Nothing Personal
by Caroline
Summary: [BB] She didn't want to get personal with Seeley Booth. He had been right when he accused her of being turned on by their fights... but that didn't mean she wanted to get into anything personal with him. Chapter 11 now up.
1. What He Sees

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
RATING: M  
SPOILERS: "The Girl in the Fridge"  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is an alternate-ending to "The Girl in the Fridge", taking place directly after the Costello's trial. Also, while in plenty of other fandoms, smut is considered to be my 'specialty', this is my first attempt at it for the Booth/Brennan fandom.

* * *

Nothing personal. Nothing personal. The phrase tumbled endlessly through Temperance Brennan's mind as she marched angrily toward her office, the heels of her boots making sharp clicks on the tile. She tossed the files she'd been holding onto her desk, and spun to confront whoever was entering the office behind her.

Upon catching the scathing look in her best friend's eyes, Angela Montenegro raised her hands, jesting, "I come in peace."

Temperance closed her eyes and shook her head. "Ange, this really isn't the best--"

"Bones!"

The scathing look was back as Temperance met the intense, dark brown gaze of Seeley Booth, who had just joined Angela in the doorway. "Go away," Tempe barked. "You are the second-to-last person I want to see right now."

Angela furrowed her brows at this. "Second-to-last?"

"Michael Stires being the first," Booth supplied, earning him another glare from the pretty forensic anthropologist.

"Stay out of it."

"Nice tie, Booth," Angela commented, more as a means to cut the tension than anything else, while she studied his necktie.

He paused only briefly to throw a charming smile her way before turning back to his partner, and the argument at hand. "Bones, I told you--"

"How dare you! You had no right to do that!"

"Yeah, I know," he nodded. "You already yelled that at me at the courthouse, remember? It was nothing personal."

"Me being forced to recount -- in front of everyone in that courtroom -- just why I chose this job in the first place, is nothing personal? Go to hell, Booth!"

Angela's eyes nearly popped from their sockets at this, and she gestured to the doorway behind her, though neither of the office's other two occupants took notice. "I'll, uh, just see myself out." She turned on her heel and called over her shoulder, "keep fighting. Don't stop on my account."

Both Tempe and Booth ignored her. "Bones, I told you... this was _my_ case, too! And I'm sorry to say, but if it hadn't been for that line of questioning, the Costello's would've walked."

"Yeah, well thanks to you, they're in jail and now over a hundred people know my twisted back story! Thanks a lot!" She shook her head in frustration and pointed angrily toward the door. "Y'know what? I want you out of my office. Now."

"What do you want me to say, Temperance!" He boldly used her first name... something he hadn't done since they had first been working together... and didn't even flinch when she stared him down for it. "Want me to say that I'm sorry? Fine, then I'm sorry!"

She barked a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, you're sorry! I'll just bet you are."

"I am!" he shouted back, taking a few steps into the room. "I _am _sorry that I had to take such drastic measures to win our case. I'm sorry that Dr. Stires is a dick and completely screwed you over while he was on the stand! I'm even sorry that I brought you this damn case to begin with, Bones, but I'm _not_ sorry for asking what I asked!"

Lights flicked off outside the office, though neither cared to notice such a minor detail in the midst of their fight. "You just said--!"

"I'm sorry for going about it the way that I did, yes, but it had to be done. I needed that jury to understand you the way that I... that even _Michael_... understands you. I needed that jury to see through your techno-babble and into the heart of _our_ side of the case."

"The way you understand me?" she balked, hands on her hips. "You don't understand me, Booth! Not even a little bit!"

"Oh, yes I do." There was a challenge in her eyes, one that he was all-too-willing to take. He stepped up to her, not backing down even when fire flashed in her bluer-than-blue irises. "You don't expect that I do, but I do. You expect I only see you for the stoic, detached scientist that you project yourself to be. You don't think that I can see through your little facade even for a minute, when really, Bones? I've seen through it from day one."

"Fine, then what do you see?" She took another step into him, now toe-to-toe with the infuriatingly gorgeous federal agent.

"Tons of things. I see someone who's stronger than she thinks she is -- who can handle the most terrifying, gruesome cases without so much as batting an eyelash. I see a woman who projects the image of cold-hearted scientist on the outside, when inside she's anything but. I see someone who seeks validation in inappropriate places at times just to prove to herself that she's as smart -- smarter, even -- than the rest of the world."

His gaze was intense, his intent to stare her down, but she didn't flinch... and she didn't back down. "I also see a woman who's astonishingly insecure for being as gorgeous as she is -- someone who settles for the tawdry, superficial relationship here and there because she thinks she's not good enough for the real thing."

Her eyes narrowed practically to thin slats at his last remark. "You are dangerously close to crossing the line," she growled.

Booth nodded. "Oh, I know." He took one last step, breath mingling with hers. "And I also see a woman..." he leaned close, "who is terrified to admit that the fights she has with her partner turns her on -- because to admit that would be admitting that he's her weakness... and she'll be _damned_ to let him know that an ass like him makes her weak in the knees."

"Just shut the hell up and kiss me, Booth."

Not one to argue with a beautiful, highly-irate woman, Booth leaned the rest of the way and aggressively captured her lips, his fingers digging into her waist and pulling her close. She met him kiss for kiss, needing their usual equality every step of the way, as she pushed him toward her couch. Their lips broke with an audible 'smooch' as she shoved him down onto it.

There was a fire in her eyes again, Booth noted... but a drastically different kind than what he was used to seeing. She grabbed the windsor knot in his necktie and he yelped as she yanked on it -- hard -- loosening it just enough to pull it over his head and discard it between his body and the inside of the couch. He began to pant as she attacked his shirt buttons, and he stared up at her, hazy-eyed through his lashes as he breathed, "Nothing personal?"

Tempe shook her head adamantly as she agreed to the terms he seemed to be setting down. "Nothing personal." And she meant it. She didn't want to get personal with Seeley Booth. He had been right when he accused her of being turned on by their fights -- she always had been, anyway -- but that didn't mean she wanted to get into anything personal with him.

This could be just sex. Just bodies in need, using each other to sate urges, before going back to their stoic professionalism. There would be no romantic dinners, no flowers, no weekend getaways. Just mindless sex to take the edge off their fights. It would be meaningless. Tempe figured to herself, if Angela could do it, why couldn't she?

In her haze, she managed to not only get all his buttons undone, but to completely remove his shirt and toss it somewhere in the vicinity of her desk. When she reached for his belt, his hand clamped down over her wrist, and he yanked her onto the couch, rolling her beneath him. "My turn, Bones," he stated with a tilt of his head. "Nothing personal."

She cried out as his lips latched onto the taut skin between her neck and shoulder, his hands busy pushing the material of her shirt up to expose her stomach... then higher, to expose the bottom of her ribcage. Tempe dug her fingernails into the sinewy muscle of his biceps, for once not tempted to mentally name the rest of the muscles in his arms, and she delighted in the wince she got as a reply.

Booth took possession of her lips again, pushing his tongue past the barrier to taste her, and she moaned into his mouth. His fingertips drew errant patterns on the soft skin of her stomach and she felt her abdominal muscles clench and jerk in response to the light, teasing administrations. He pulled at her shirt, pulling her to a sitting position as he went before breaking the kiss and yanking it over her head, tossing it in the same direction as his own shirt.

Fabric flew in every direction, then, as they divested each other of the rest of their clothing. Booth kissed her lips with urgency and Tempe felt her heart lurch, though she pushed the feeling away and moved to roll atop him. He pinned her with his weight, however, and shook his head when she looked to him questioningly.

"It's nothing personal, Bones," his deep tone seduced her, "but I kinda like to be on top."

He slid inside her and she gasped loudly; Booth quickly leaned forward to swallow the gasp with a kiss as he began to move... slowly at first, then, when she began to whimper, he sped up. He let out his breath when he felt her fingernails raking down his back, probably carving a path of pink in their wake before they dug in to the small of his back. He groaned.

Tempe moved her hips in tandem with his, their prior heated argument enhancing the sensations ten-fold. What was it about arguing with Booth that left her so sexually charged? Fighting with him somehow transformed from annoying, as it was in the beginning, to a suddenly powerful aphrodisiac. Now when she fought with him, she found herself craving his body -- the energy only his spirit could give to her.

Booth felt her shudder when he hit a particularly sensitive spot inside her, the whimper that cascaded from her lips as a result nearly sending him flying over the edge. But he needed her with him. Fifty-fifty all the way -- it was how it just had to be with them. He would not allow himself to give over to the pleasure unless she was with him one-hundred percent. So he leaned into her, trailing kisses down her neck as his movements slowed. He smiled when she let out another whimper, this one of disappointment.

"Faster, Booth," she panted, digging her nails into his back again.

He winced at the pain that assailed him briefly, throwing her a rakish grin when he'd recovered. "I told you you were bossy." He compliedwith her demands before she could shoot a comment back at him, and his eyes snapped shut when he felt her reaching the peak.

When it hit, Tempe's body went completely still as her eyes went wide, her mouthgaping on a silent scream. Booth's eyes widened, too, at the feeling of her pulsing around him, and he moaned her name -- her first name -- as he followed her into that heavenly abyss. They rode out the waves together before collapsing, sated, against the couch... limbs still tangled together while they fought for breath.

"I'm crushing you," Booth managed to mumble into the crook of her neck after several long moments had passed.

She nodded against him. "Yeah, you kind of are." She pushed at his shoulder feebly. "Get off."

He held his tongue to refrain from making the cheeky comment he _could_ have made in response... and rolled off her, searching for his boxers and pulling them on. They dressed in silence, throwing glances at each other every few seconds. Booth studied his partner carefully while he pulled his shirt on, unbuttoning the cuffs so he could roll up the sleeves.

Tempe's face was flushed... glowing... and there was a certain satisfied sparkle in her eye. He fought not to strut proudly at the fact that it was _he_ who had given her eyes that sparkle, not that asshole-ish excuse for a professor, Dr. Michael Stires. When she noticed him watching her, he turned his eyes away and finished buttoning his shirt as he sighed out, "So, I'll see you tomorrow then, Bones."

She furrowed her brow as she finished straightening her clothing, picking up his suit jacket and handing it to him. "Tomorrow?"

Booth pulled his suit jacket on and fixed the collar while heading for the door, spinning to face her once he was a safe distance away -- in case an attack ensued. "Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you? We have another case."

Her eyes widened, and she tilted her head admonishingly. "Booth!"

He laughed and tossed his keys up into the air, catching them effortlessly as he threw her what she referred to as his 'charm smile.' "Come on, you know you're just itching to dig those claws of yours into another juicy case." At the mention of her 'claws', however, he had to fight not to rub his lower back, where the skin was most certainly boasting deep, crescent-shaped marks.

"What about no working on the weekends?" Tempe had to silently marvel at the fact that, even though they had basically just 'fucked each other senseless', as Angela would so eloquently put it, they were still able to retain their usual banter.

"Ah, a guy's gotta take a weekend case for his country every now and then," he sighed, and strolled out the door. He called his farewell over his shoulder, "See ya bright and early tomorrow, Bones. Until then, have pleasant dreams."

Tempe raised an eyebrow at his path of retreat and sighed to herself, throwing a glance toward the couch. Pleasant dreams, indeed.

* * *

TBC?

* * *

**_To Continue, or Not to Continue? That, truly is the question. And only you guys have the answer..._**


	2. Growing Addiction

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
RATING: Just T, for this chapter. It's a bit more tame.  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks again, everyone, for all the reviews! A first foray into smut for a fandom can be a little nerve-wracking, much like writing a first story for a fandom, so I'm glad I was able to make it believable. And apologies for any errors to follow -- I got this done as quickly as possible so I could post another chapter for you guys, so I didn't do much proof-reading. It was more like proof-skimming. Hehe.

* * *

"Sweetie, what did I tell you about calling me in on the weekends?" Angela griped, striding into her best friend's office. "I was totally set to hunker down in bed with Keith for two straight days of sex when I got your call. What gives?"

Tempe raised her eyebrows and let out a sigh, watching her friend make a beeline for the couch and plop unceremoniously down onto it. "Booth and I need you to do a facial reconstruction on four bodies."

Angela's eyes widened. "Four?" She then smiled at her friend, devilishly. "And listen you, with your little 'Booth & I's. It's almost like you guys are a couple, that's so cute."

Tempe laughed. "Right. Booth and I... a couple. Please tell me you're joking."

Angela rolled her eyes -- she would never see it, would she? -- and sighed out, "well, let me just boot up my mainframe, and then I'll get started." She made a face suddenly and shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "What the hell am I sitting on?" She dug between the cushions, pulling up the offending object. "A tie?" Her eyes flicked over the silken material, recognizing the pattern immediately... and she looked to Tempe for an explanation. "Sweetie? What, uh... what is Booth's tie doing between the cushions of your couch?"

She opened her mouth to answer when Booth himself strode through the door, holding up a file and wiggling it in his hand. "Alright Bones, here we go! The prepared case-file, as you asked." He tilted his head and grinned. "Or, should I say, demanded."

Tempe gave him a look through her lashes and snatched the file from his hands, ignoring the feigned wince he sent as well as his muttering about paper cuts. As she flipped through the file, Booth turned his attention to the other occupant of the office, smiling at Angela. "Morning."

Her brows twitched in amusement as she held the tie behind her back. "Happy Saturday, Seeley."

"Sorry to drag you away from your newest conquest this weekend."

Angela waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Oh, and by the way..." She rose to her feet and approached the handsome agent, holding out the tie before dropping it into his hands. "I believe this belongs to you."

"Oh." Angela watched him carefully, cataloguing the way his eyes nervously flitted between Tempe, and the couch, and he ducked his head. "What is that doing here?"

She couldn't help the grin. "You tell me."

Predictably, that was the moment Tempe chose to stand up, file in-hand, and start shoving Booth toward the door. She tossed a look at her best friend. "We have to go. We've got work to do."

"Sure." Angela smiled at their retreat, eyebrows quirking as she quipped to the now-empty office, "work."

* * *

"Bones, what in the hell did you tell her?" Booth asked once they were driving down the highway in his bureau-issue SUV.

"Who?"

"Who do you think? Angela!"

Tempe threw her hands up in an exaggerated shrug. "I didn't tell her anything! She found your tie."

"Great. So she knows."

"Not necessarily."

His eyebrows raised above the rims of his shades. "'Not necessarily'? Bones, she found my tie!"

"So?" she chuckled, not understanding his ire. What was the big deal? "It's not like she found your boxers wedged between the sofa cushions. It was just your tie. You could've easily taken it off and thrown it there while we were arguing."

"Yeah, or while we were..." He trailed off, feeling his face growing warm, and he glimpsed quick at his partner, "you know."

Tempe sighed heavily, feeling a headache coming on, and propped her elbow on the car door as she rubbed her right temple. "Booth, I hate to sound like you, but... could we please focus on the case?"

"Fine." He gripped the steering wheel tightly and clenched his teeth.

"Fine."

Thick silence reigned the rest of the way to their destination.

* * *

Several hours later, they found themselves in upstate New York, following the lead Booth was given on where one of the already-identified victims had lived. "How does someone go from living in a huge cabin in upstate New York to being buried behind a bar in D.C.?" he mused rhetorically.

Tempe sighed to herself, watch Booth pull in to a parking space at a tourist lodge. "Let's just get this little adventure over with."

After checking in at the main lodge, Booth and Brennan where shown to their cabin, just yards away from the lodge. Though it was small, it boasted two bedrooms, a kitchen, a den, and a shared bathroom. "How long are we staying here, anyway?" she asked, tossing her overnight bag onto the small sofa in the den.

Booth shrugged lethargically. "Until our work is done, Bones."

She rolled her eyes. "Great."

"Y'know what I don't get about you, Bones?"

She huffed. "No, but I have a feeling you'll tell me anyway."

"If our case deals with anything that's just remotely interesting to you, you're all over it -- staying up all night to work, putting forth extra effort, all of that. But if the case concerns stuff that's interesting to _me_, you drag your feet on it! You act like you could really care less whether we solve it or not!"

She took a step toward where he stood leaning against the small breakfast bar in the kitchen. "Are you accusing me of not giving a hundred percent on the job? Because I have _never_ given less than everything I have for a case, Booth! You know that."

"Do I?" He folded his arms across his chest and leaned more heavily against the counter, crossing his feet at the ankles while he regarded her through his lashes.

Tempe's eyes widened. "How can you even ask that! Who was the one that stayed up for forty-eight hours trying to compile evidence to save a man from being executed? Who was the one who followed you to Washington state to ID a hand that was found inside a bear? Huh?" She gestured to him with an upturned palm. "Meanwhile, _you_ were the one on that death row case unwilling to help me dig because you might ruin your damn _suit_! If anyone here's not giving a hundred percent, it's you!"

It took two strides for Booth to reach her, and two more seconds afterward for him to grab her face and pull her in for a breath-stealing kiss. Tempe struggled against him, pressing her fists into his chest... but this only succeeded in him pulling her in tighter, his awakening arousal making itself apparent against her hip. He dragged her toward the bedrooms, refusing to break the kiss, and a comical moment ensued as they continually bumped into various sections of the wall... taking turns pinning each other along the way.

Once inside one of the bedrooms, Booth flopped backward onto the bed, pulling Tempe down with him and smiling when she yelped against his lips. He expertly rolled her beneath him and began working the buttons of her blouse, propping himself up on one elbow to do so. She gave a self-satisfied grin when she spotted his furrowed brow and the way he'd taken his lower lip between his teeth -- "Having some trouble?" she quipped, and finished unbuttoning her shirt for him.

He glared at her. "I was doing fine, thanks."

"Please. A few more seconds and you'd have been looking for a manual." Tempe gently shoved her partner off of her so she could sit up and remove her shirt, tossing it over his shoulder, toward the vanity table at the other end of the room.

"Just shut up, Bones." Booth found himself unable to stop the wide grin from spreading as he maneuvered her back against the pillows, his lips nipping at hers. As they alternated from deep, wet kisses to playful pecks, Tempe reached for his tie, this time undoing it gently, untying it completely before she pulled it from beneath his shirt collar.

When he reached up with his free hand to undo his own shirt buttons, still bracing himself on his elbow, she smiled. "Way to take charge, Booth."

He quirked an eyebrow and leaned close, the tips of their noses bumping. "What did I tell you? Shut up." He silenced her with a kiss, leaning into her and settling himself in the cradle of her hips. Deftly undoing the clasp on her black dress pants, he dragged the zipper down, the sheer sound of it cutting through the silence increasing his arousal.

Tempe locked her knees on both sides of his hips, delighting in his groan, and used her strength to roll them just as expertly as he had... now sitting astride him. She grinned down at his look of surprise while spreading open his shirt... fingertips dancing across taut skin and toned muscle. She always figured Booth for someone who would be vain enough to keep in shape -- even before she dropped by his place early-on and saw him sans shirt. She knew he did sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups -- he'd told her so once when she'd accused him of being tense. And she remembered his response verbatim: 'Because we're talking.'

She leaned in to nip at his neck as she smiled to herself -- they now had a new way to relieve tension. One that she realized, as Booth trailed kisses along her shoulder, she was fastly becoming addicted to...

* * *

TBC 


	3. Forfeit

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Just so you all know, I am _terrible _at writing cases, so anything about their case will be kept brief, at best. Sorry. If I were better at it, I would definitely make more than a half-assed attempt. I'm just in it for the romance, though ;)

* * *

Temperance regained consciousness sometime after the sun had already gone down, her body aching from the previous exertion. Laying on her stomach she tried to move, but found herself pinned by a warm body... Booth's, to be exact. His arm had wound tight around her waist and he had tucked her halfway beneath him in his sleep, his leg thrown protectively over both of hers. She frowned and burrowed her cheek against the pillows. How the hell could she get herself out from under him without sustaining an injury?

His ringing cell phone on the nightstand offered the perfect opportunity, and she nudged him with the elbow that was stuffed under his chest. "Booth..." When he didn't stir, she exerted as much force as her abused muscles would allow, using her body to shake him. "Booth!"

"Mmph. Go away, Bones," he mumbled, and pulled her in tighter, burying his nose in her hair.

"Gladly. I'll need you to let go of me first, however."

It was at this that his eyes popped open, and he jumped back from her as if burned. "Sorry, sorry," he immediately sputtered, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up, reaching for the phone. "Yeah, Booth."

Tempe watched him as he spoke with whoever was on the other end, holding the phone in one hand while pulling on his discarded boxers with the other. She slowly began to dress, realizing how reluctant she was to perform such a task. She then pushed that feeling away just as quickly as it came to her... dismissing it as silly. She and Booth had a job to do. Letting their new... recreational activity... get in the way of that would be ridiculous.

"Yes, I'm sorry. We just arrived," Booth lied to whoever it was. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

He hung up the phone then and sighed heavily, tossing it toward the foot of the bed. Tempe's eyes followed the low arch it made before it touched down against the comforter, and she enquired, "The sheriff?"

"Yeah. Wanting to know where we were." He looked over his shoulder at her accusingly. "Bones, why did you let me sleep?"

She raised her eyebrows, finishing pulling her shirt over her head. "Excuse me? _I_ was the one that was pinned by your body weight. And it wasn't _my _initial idea to have another go after that first round."

Booth mirrored her eyebrow quirk with one of his own, a slow smirk spreading across his lips. "Well, you didn't seem to have any objections to it, if I remember correctly. In fact, you were a rather willing _and_ active participant."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her brush out of her overnight bag, running it through her hair haphazardly. "Pig."

"Prude."

Tempe chucked her brush at him, grinning when hit him in the chest and he winced. "Come on, we don't want to keep the sheriff waiting any longer."

"Yeah." His eyes trailed her movement toward the door, finding grace in every step she took. Was she always that beautiful? Had he ever told her just how beautiful she was to him? "Hey, Bones?"

She continued out the door, not bothering to look back or answer him as she called again, "Come on!"

He sighed and finished buttoning his shirt, shaking his head at her behavior as he followed her out the door.

* * *

"Alright Bones, whaddya got?" Booth ambled over to his partner, who was busy poking through the victim's medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

They'd been on the scene for a half hour already, and already Booth was anxious to get her back to their cabin. He ignored his brain's silent warnings that they were starting to play with fire. They'd been together only twice... well, three times if he counted that second session at the cabin... and he was addicted. He'd been enamored with the lovely scientist since the beginning, and now that he had gotten so close to her...

"I've found several prescription bottles," she interrupted his thoughts. "Valium, Xanax, Vicodin... all of which are over a year old already. If she was taking these regularly, we'd see some more recent dates on the bottles." She shook her head, the swinging hair drawing her partner's attention. "Booth, I don't think she's lived here for awhile."

"You've come to this conclusion because she's got old prescriptions in her medicine cabinet?" He chuckled. "Come on, Bones, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe she simply didn't need to take any of them anymore, and just didn't throw them out."

Tempe raised her eyebrows in a challenge. "Oh yeah?"

He eyed her. "Why? You got something else?"

Her grin melted his bones. "Maybe."

Booth leaned close to her ear, selfishly indulging himself in a light caress to the side of her neck -- a sensitive spot he'd discovered just hours before. "I don't have to... tease it out of you... do I?"

She chuckled, easing herself away from his touch. "Booth, we're working."

"So?"

Tempe grinned at him over her shoulder while walking to the bedroom. "So quit flirting with me."

He raised his eyebrows to himself, pondering aloud, "when have I ever _not _flirted with you?" before following where she led.

"Here's what else I found," she announced, stopping suddenly, and his chest collided with her back.

Booth reached instinctively for her waist, bracing both himself and her while his whisper drifted to her ear, "sorry."

She gave him a skeptical look, then brushed off the moment with a sigh, and stepped away from him to move to the dresser... completely missing the look of disappointment that flitted across his face. "Take a look at her dresser."

When he stepped up to the waist-high dresser, throwing a glance toward the mirror only briefly, he noted the light coating of dust on the jewelry box and various perfume bottles. "It's dust."

"Exactly."

"Not seein' where you're going with this, Bones."

"Well, if you had looked at the photo of this woman in the casefile, you would have seen how well-kept she looked -- manicured fingernails, expensive clothes, perfectly styled hair..."

"Yeah?"

"What kind of woman would spend that much time on her appearance and leave her bedroom, the place where she sleeps and primps for her day, covered in dust? I mean, look at this!" She marched over to the bed and slapped her hand down, hard, on the bedspread, a small cloud of dust spraying upward in response.

"That still doesn't mean anything, Bones, and you know that. When this woman was found, she was _literally_ skin and bones. Time of death was determined to be around four months. It's not like this much dust can't accumulate in four months." He couldn't help the smile. "You're reaching."

Tempe rolled her eyes and huffed, brushing past him and shoulder-checking him out of spite. "Yeah, and you're starting to piss me off."

His brows quirked. "Good.I'll let youtake out your frustration on me later, then, I promise."

"What about her closet?" She threw open the doors and gestured for Booth to take a look inside.

He did so, warily, half-fearing she would shove him inside and lock him in there for the remainder of their time at the scene. "Booth, where do you keep your suitcases?" she asked out of the blue.

He furrowed his brows at her. "Top shelf of my closet, why?"

"So do I. And look..." she pointed toward the top shelf, her smile smug. "No suitcases."

"Still reaching, Bones."

"Look at all the empty hangers."

He sighed and nabbed her elbow, spinning her around as he slipped his hand up to clasp the inside of her arm, leading her downstairs. "Yeah, Bones, you can show me all the empty hangers and dusty perfume bottles you want, but it doesn't prove anything. Not yet."

Booth felt her eyes burning holes in his skin all the way down the staircase, and he was all-too-grateful to speak to the sheriff who was waiting for them on the landing. "Just spoke to the neighbor," he announced, and pulled a small notepad out of the breast-pocket of his uniform, flipping it open. "An elderly man named Clarence Haskins. He's been watching the place for her since she's been gone."

Booth raised his eyebrows and released his partner's arm upon catching the sheriff's inquisitive stare. "Gone, as in missing?"

The sheriff shook his head. "No. According to Mr. Haskins, our vic left town about a year ago to pursue a job offer in D.C."

Tempe couldn't help but throw a smug grin in Booth's direction, widening it when he glared at her. "Is that so?" she asked.

"Yeah. He said she sent him money every now and then for basic upkeep, but four months ago, the checks stopped coming."

Booth nodded once, quickly, and grabbed his partner's arm again. "Okay. Thanks, sheriff," he managed to get out, and dragged her toward the door.

"What is the matter with you?" Tempe chuckled, prying her arm out of his strong grip. "So you were wrong, big deal!"

"You didn't have to be so smug about it."

"_You _didn't have to be so dismissive of my conclusions upstairs!"

His brows knit together in confusion and he placed his hands on his hips, the sides of his suit jacket spreading apart as he did so. "Aren't you the same person who once said you didn't _like_ to draw conclusions until all the evidence was in?"

She threw her hands up in an exaggerated shrug. "Well maybe being with you has started to rub off on me!" Upon catching his wide-eyed look, she clarified. "As your _partner._" She threw her hands up again and started for the SUV. "What's the big deal? It's only natural for us to pick up things from each other, working so closely together for such long hours. Anthropologically speaking, we're adapting."

He rolled his eyes exasperatedly and climbed in to the driver's side. "Oh God, don't start with the anthropology lecture now."

"I'm not _starting _with anything, and why are you being such a jerk about this?"

"Y'know what Bones? Now _you're _the one who's really pissing _me _off, okay? So why don't we just not talk to each other for the rest of the night?"

"Fine!"

"Fine."

Thick silence reigned, just as it had that morning, the rest of the way back to their cabin.

* * *

Booth exhaled through pursed lips, the action sending up a spray of water while he stood under the showerhead, angrily rubbing his scalp... rinsing away the shampoo. Nothing personal. What a crock. Why the hell did he even say that in the first place? Sex with Bones was anything _but _impersonal. Any kind of sex was a personal act, but with Bones? The woman he'd been falling for since their first case together?

He'd been wrong. This couldn't continue. It had only happened twice (three, again, if he was to count that second time earlier), and that had to be it. While it was a definite relief to get rid of some of that tension, he couldn't shake the new kind of tension it was creating. It was quite obvious that, as usual, they were coming at this from two different angles. He knew, from her behavior earlier, that she would do everything to keep it from being personal. Just casual sex between work partners, and nothing more. But as much as he knew that, he also knew there was no way he'd be able to handle having casual sex with this woman.

And the way she had rebuffed his flirtations at the scene had, quite frankly, hurt. They had always flirted on the job and she'd never had a problem with it before. He had to end this. So immersed was he in his thoughts that he didn't hear the glass shower door opening. Then, when two hands crept to his shoulders, he jumped and spun around as quickly as he could without slipping.

There, in all her naked glory, stood a smiling Temperance Brennan, nudging him out of the way to step under the warm spray. She turned back to face him with a rather devilish grin, her hands smoothing her now-slicked hair back as she sighed out, "We need to have sex again. Now."

He echoed the sigh, though far less enthusiastically. "No offense, Bones, but I really need you to just leave me alone for right now."

Tempe ignored him, instead stretching up on her toes to start peppering kisses alongside his neck. "I understand you're still upset with me, and that's fine," she muttered between kisses. She pulled away to smirk. "But to forfeit sex in order to pout in the shower? That's just not like you."

She kissed his lips and Booth was powerless to do anything but kiss back, sliding his hands through her saturated hair. Her tongue flirted with his lips and he let her in... only for the briefest of moments before he pulled away, head shaking emphatically. "No."

"Oh, come on." She slid her hand down his torso, to his abdomen, and shoved his hand away when he clamped it over her wrist to stop her. "We can fight some more later. Right now, there's too much tension between us. And, for me?" She raised dusky blue eyes to his, her gaze beguiling through smoky lashes. "You're the only one that can relieve the tension."

Her hand slid beyond his abdomen and he gave up the fight, resolving, as he lifted her up against the wall and pushed inside her... that one more time wouldn't hurt him. Not _that _much, anyway... would it?

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**More Author's Notes: **For those of you that enjoy reading the love scenes, I apologize forteasing you these past couple chapters. I will try my hardest to have more good BB lovin' in chapter four! _

And to those still waiting on chapter 3 of 'The Valentine in the Lights', I promise you I'm working on it. It's just taking a tad longer than expected ;)


	4. Call to Attention

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks, as always, to those that leave such warm reviews, to those that enjoy the story as-is. I'm just following where the muse takes me and hoping it's comprehensible. And apologies to those that were hoping for some more BB lovin' in this one. I decided to go the angsty route instead. Hope it's still enjoyable ;)

* * *

"Booth, let go of me." Tempe struggled to pry his arm from around her waist, but he held tight.

"No-can-do, Bones, I'm sorry," he replied as he buried his face further into her hair, peppering kisses on the back of her neck while he inhaled the fresh, soapy scent of her skin.

She smiled and squirmed, and somehow managed to thrash herself free. "Come on! I have to call Angela, and boot up the laptop..." she sat up and began running her fingers through her tangled, still-damp hair, "and we should probably discuss whether or not to investigate at that cabin anymore."

Booth sighed heavily and stuffed his face into the pillow, damning himself all over again for falling prey to the allure of Temperance Brennan. "Work, work, work. Is that all you ever do?"

"No," she shrugged nonchalantly. "I believe I've been allowing ample time for play lately."

He opened one eye and peeked at her, finding that her eyes were currently branding him through her lashes. He propped himself up on one elbow while he held her gaze... then swiftly sat up and cupped the back of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss.

Tempe sunk into the searing, sweet kiss, wanting more than anything to just wrap her arms around Booth and never let go. Her eyes popped open at the thought -- where had _that _come from? -- and she broke away shaking her head. "No. Stop, Booth."

Booth complied, but leaned his forehead on hers, sighing. "Okay." He pulled back slightly and searched her eyes, wanting to ask -- needing to ask -- but not knowing where the hell he would even begin. "Bones, do you ever think about..."

When he trailed off, she furrowed her brows. "What? Think about what?"

_Us?_ he thought. _Us, as more than work partners, as more than sex partners... us being everything to each other?_ "Uh... nevermind, sorry." He jerked his head in the direction of the door. "Go on and call Angela. Work's waiting."

Tempe eyed him warily, but nodded her agreement. "Okay..." She then rose to her feet and impulsively grabbed the tee shirt Booth had discarded before his shower, pulling it on and padding out toward the small living room.

Booth, meanwhile, angrily threw the covers off himself and dressed haphazardly, shaking his head at the empty room. Control. Where she was concerned, he had none, and that had never happened to him before. He had to regain control.

* * *

"Sorry to call so late, Angela, but I really need anything you've got." Tempe smoothed her hair back unconsciously, hoping her friend couldn't tell how disheveled she was from the other end of the video phone.

"It's no problem, Brenn, I'm at always at your service." Angela smiled. "And I mean that in a work-related, non-lesbian way, of course."

"Of course."

"I'm beaming you scans of the sketches I worked up for each victim... except for the one that was already identified. I assume that's what you and your lusty secret agent man ran off to investigate. And what is that you're wearing?"

Tempe closed her eyes and sighed, adjusting the laptop to make sure Angela couldn't see her bare legs. "It's a nightshirt," she lied.

At that precise moment, Booth yelled out from his room, "Bones, gimme my shirt back! My other one's dirty!" And when he stepped out, in view of thevideo phone in nothing more than his pressed dress pants, Angela began to laugh.

Tempe glared accusingly over her shoulder at Booth, and he raised his hands in supplication while the laughter continued on the other end. "How was I supposed to know that you meant you were going to call her _right now_?"

"I see what this little getaway was for, now," Angela chuckled.

Tempe gave thecamera a look. "Ange, it's not what it looks like."

"Oh yes it is, Sweetie. I'm not stupid. I won't even remind you of the tie I found this morning."

Booth sighed and began pulling on his button-down shirt. "Alright, I'm going to go flush myself down the toilet now."

"I'll be there in a minute to help you," Tempe glared.

"I knew it would happen eventually, don't get so bent out of shape about it. Besides, I'm sure Booth got you to bend in plenty of interesting ways, and I'm still waiting for all the tawdry details--"

"Ange! The sketches?"

"So are you two, like, a couple now?"

"No, we're not," Tempe replied curtly, "and we never will be."

She jumped when she heard the refrigerator door slam, and turned to see Booth clenching his jaw. She completely missed Angela's slow warning, "Uh... Sweetie..."

Her eyes were still focused on Booth as he deposited his bottle of water on the counter, a bit forcefully, and went over to put on his shoes... again, a bit forcefully. When he pulled his suit jacket on, she enquired, "Where are you going?"

"Outside."

"Well, don't you wanna hear about--"

"I've heard enough," he snapped, and was out the door in seconds, slamming it behind him.

"What's his problem?" Tempe muttered under her breath, and turned back to the video phone just in time to see Angela roll her eyes. "What?"

"You, Honey. You're his problem. I can't believe you said that right in front of him!"

"I didn't know he was standing there, and what is the big deal?"

"The big deal is what's happening between you two."

"It's just been a couple -- maybe three or four -- isolated sexual incidents."

"Yeah, to you."

"What does that mean?" Tempe folded her arms across her chest defiantly and furrowed her brows at Angela.

"It means that, while _you_ may be comfortable with this new little 'fuck-and-run' relationship you've established with Booth... _he_ might not be comfortable with it."

She shrugged. "I haven't heard any complaints."

"Right, because what guy _would_ complain about no-strings-attached sex? Just because you haven't _heard_ anything doesn't mean he hasn't been trying to _tell_ you anything."

"Alright, as usual, you're not making any sense. And when will you be beaming me those sketches?"

"Dammit, Brenn!" Angela finally snapped. "You know what? I love you, honey, so much... which is why what I'm about to tell you is said with love: you need to drag your nose away from the bones and the cases for two seconds and just look at what's happening right in front of you! I'm so tired of having to spell everything out for you when it comes to you and Booth. It's ridiculous. You're the smartest person I know, but when it comes to him, you're an idiot!"

"Hey!" she exclaimed, indignant.

"I'm sorry, but it's true. You know virtually everything except how to handle yourself when a real relationship presents itself."

"This is not a relationship."

"Pull you head out of the sand, Sweetie! You and Booth have been in a relationship since day one! Just... the parameters keep changing."

"I don't know what that means."

Angela raised her eyebrows. "Well, then _figure out _what it means. Booth's not gonna wait around forever for you to get a clue. Now, as you asked... those sketches..."

* * *

Booth sighed, his breath coming out as a cloud against the chilly midnight air. He stuffed his hands through his hair savagely, almost wishing he was a smoker. He'd have killed for a cigarette in that moment. They'd never be a couple. How could she just dismiss the idea so quickly?

He had to show her; he had to show her how much potential there was between them... how much potential _he _saw between them. Whereas she seduced him with the 'nothing personal' sexual relationship, he would have to seduce _her_ with something she never considered -- falling in love.

His cell phone vibrating in his pocket distracted him, and as he pulled it out, he glanced down at the viewing screen. His brow furrowed at the unfamiliar number and area code that popped up, but brought the phone to his ear nonetheless. "Booth."

"Agent Booth, I've got some information on a case you're investigating," came a male voice from the other end.

"And who am I speaking to?"

"You're investigating the death of Jamie Michaels, aren't you? You and that anthropologist lady I've seen on the news."

"Yes. Can I ask who I'm speaking to? And why are you calling me at this hour?"

"I was a friend of Jamie's. I'd like for you to meet me at her cabin, if you could. I have some information you need to hear. And I'm sorry about the late hour, Agent Booth, but this can't wait any longer."

"I'll be right there." He turned his phone off and slipped it back into his pocket, glancing into the living room from the picture window. His heart ached at the sight of Bones, her form dwarfed by his tee shirt, and he sighed. "Bones..." He poked his head through the front door, and averted his eyes when she looked up at him, "We gotta go back to that cabin."

She nodded, "let me just go change," before she ended her call with Angela and disappeared into the bedroom.

The car ride was silent, tension-riddled just as their last few car trips had been; though this time, neither were fuming. Booth was silently contemplating the case while trying not to grow depressed at his partner's hurtful words ... and Tempe was silently contemplating the case while trying not to be bothered by her conflicting feelings.

She finally couldn't take it anymore. She had to break the silence. "So Angela completed those sketches of the other three victims... and Zack was able to match dental records. Apparently, all four victims, including Jamie, were from here, originally. And according to their birthdates, they all would have graduated high school in the same year. It's probably a safe bet that they were all friends."

"Which means our killer could be from this same area."

"And possibly from the very same graduating class. A bitter classmate, maybe? Or an ex-boyfriend of one, or all, of them."

"Quit being like me for a little bit, Bones, and don't jump to conclusions." He pulled up in front of the large cabin, cutting the engine and turning to face her. "I want you to stay here."

"But--"

"Don't argue, for once." He shook his head in amazement and chuckled grimly. "Do you ever get tired of fighting, Bones? Don't you ever just want to... give up the fight? Give in and accept what someone says? What someone offers? Just accept what's in front of you for what it is?"

Tempe eyed him. "Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about the case?"

Booth sighed. "Forget it," and he jumped out of the car. Before he shut the door, he held up a finger to her sternly. "Stay here, Bones. I mean it. We have no idea who this anonymous caller is, so we have no idea if he's a potential threat or not."

"Well, just let me borrow one of your guns, and--"

"No, Temperance. I won't risk it." He held her gaze. "Not your life. Never your life."

Before she could say another word, he had shut the door, turned on his heel, and started toward the house... which was suddenly, to Temperance, looking very ominous. She swallowed hard, digesting what Angela had said to her -- what Booth had said to her -- and whispered to the empty car, "Be careful, Booth..."

* * *

TBC

* * *

_More to come ASAP, I promise! I'll bring the muse out again after work ;)_


	5. Yellow Moonlight and Irrational Fears

TITLE: Nothing Personal

* * *

Feeling useless was something Temperance Brennan hated more than anything, and... for that past half hour, that was all she felt. She felt useless, sitting out in the SUV, not knowing what was going on inside. And, she hated to admit it, but she was extremely worried about Booth. She normally wasn't one to go with her gut, as Booth would say, but for some reason -- perhaps it was the eerie silver-yellow moonlight -- the cabin was giving her the creeps.

While Booth was inside, she had kept her eyes peeled for any suspicious vehicles, any suspicious-looking person on the road nearby, but saw nothing out of the ordinary for a small town. The occasional car passed here and there, and there was the occasional bark of a dog or faint honking of a car horn. Other than that, it was a perfectly normal night.

Tempe was nearly jarred clear out of her skin when her cell phone rang, and she was embarrassed to realize she had shrieked just a little. She closed her eyes -- _calm yourself, Brennan. Rein it in -- _before pulling her phone out of her pocket and glancing at the blue glow of the ID screen: 'Booth'. She then immediately hit the green button and pulled it to her ear. "Where are you?"

"I'm inside," came his nearly-whispered reply.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Because I'm not sure whether I'm alone or not. I've looked practically all over this place and haven't seen anybody. I mean... I know I don't know what this guy looks like, but..."

She couldn't help but smile. "How many random men are you bound to run into in that cabin tonight?"

"Right."

There was a pause on both ends of the phone, then Tempe asked, "Can I come in yet? I'm going stir-crazy out here not being able to do anything, and... looking at the cabin is really giving me the creeps."

His chuckle in her ear made her tingle. "Oh, Bones. You're not scared of the dark, are ya?"

"I just might be if I have to sit out here any longer. I'm coming in."

"Fine, just... be careful, alright Bones?"

"I will. Meet me in the entryway."

Tempe jumped out of the car and sprinted toward the house, a strange fluttering feeling making her move as quickly as possible... almost as if someone was chasing her. Or watching her. Her hand trembled as she reached for the knob on the front door and pushed it open, and when her eyes settled on Booth, a sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Booth smiled, knowingly, and reached for her... conveying comfort and safety with physical contact. Contrary to what he expected, she didn't pull away, but rather clung to the hand he'd offered. He frowned when he felt the tremor in her hand. "You're trembling," he commented.

"Yeah." She nodded, and then visibly shivered. "I think it's the moonlight, Booth. I'm developing irrational fears. There's nothing for me to be afraid of, but everything looks so damn... scary."

He didn't chuckle as she'd thought he would, but instead pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I know what you mean. Let's look around and see if our caller left anything for us to find. Then I'll get you out of here."

Tempe exhaled a shaky, but grateful, smile. "Thank you."

Booth led her around the house by the hand, neither really wanting to sever their sole point of contact, as their eyes searched for anything out of place from how they'd left it earlier. Finding nothing in the living room and kitchen, they silently agreed to check upstairs. Tempe relinquished her hold on her partner's hand when they reached the top of the stairs, not as irrationally frightened as she'd previously been.

The spare bedroom boasted not much more than a day bed and a dresser... and the master bedroom was just as dusty and preserved as they had left it that evening. "I think we've been stood up," Booth quipped, and spun around to grin at his partner... only to frown when he realized she wasn't there.

"Booth!"

He sprang into action at hearing the reserved panic in her voice, and he had already pulled his gun from its holster when he encountered her in the hallway. He breathed a sigh of relief at seeing she was okay, then at seeing the pallor in her face, he asked, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost, Bones."

Her eyes were still slightly wide as she grasped his arm, leading him toward the bathroom. "I think I might've found what our caller left for us."

Booth peered through the doorway, right toward the mirror on the medicine cabinet, and his eyebrows shot toward his hairline at what he saw there. In red lipstick, hastily scribbled, were the words: I KILLED THEM ALL.

"Shit," he whispered. "He's our killer. And he's been here already."

A thump sounded from downstairs and Tempe moved closer to her protector. "And he may not have left just yet."

Booth took the safety off his gun and started downstairs, toward the source of the noise... spinning on his heel briefly to face his partner. "Stay right here, Bones."

Her eyes went wide again, and she shook her head profusely. "No. No way, you're not leaving me up here. What if he comes up here?"

"Bones, this isn't a horror movie. Just stay put--"

"No. I'm coming with you." She watched as he opened his mouth to protest and she quickly added, "I'll stay close, Seeley."

Her rare use of his first name got him, and he finally nodded slowly, gesturing her to keep behind him. They crept quietly down the stairs together, Tempe with her hands lightly on Booth's back to let him know she was close behind... and Booth with his arms extended, gun poised at the ready. "FBI!" he shouted. "Identify yourself!"

The sound of a door opening spurred Booth into action again and he ran down the stairs, gun still extended. "Shit!"

"What?" Tempe, once she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, ran to catch up with Booth, who was already heading toward the back of the cabin.

"I think he went out back!" he called over his shoulder, and roughly shoved the sliding screen door aside, taking off.

Tempe ran after him, not feeling safe with him so far away though she knew the feeling was irrational.

Booth was already halfway across the back yard, turning around when he heard the most heart-wrenching sound -- his partner's scream. "Bones!"

He spun to find her on the deck, sprawled in an unusual position... and he abandoned his search for their caller-slash-killer to go to her. Upon reaching her, he found that the boards of the deck had broken beneath her feet, and one leg had slipped through. "Oh shit, Bones."

She shook her head, face contorted in a grimace. "Just help me up."

He did so, then froze when another scream ripped past her lips. "What? What?"

Where the board had split was jagged, and was leaving deep gashes in her leg as he pulled her out. She shook her head against the pain, motioning him to continue. "I'll be fine. Just... keep going."

He had her out within a few more seconds, and before she could protest he'd scooped her up and carried her though the open sliding door. Her blood soaked into his crisp white shirt -- he could feel the sticky wetness against his skin now -- and she whimpered as she laid her head on his shoulder. "He got away..."

"That's not important right now," he assured her, and threw a glance at her still-bleeding leg. "Want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No. It's not as bad as it looks," she insisted. "I just need some first aid."

"My kit's back at the cabin." He kicked the front door shut behind him as he carried her toward the SUV.

Tempe pulled back slightly and stared in disbelief. "So you keep kevlar vests stashed in the trunk, but you don't have a first aid kit on-hand?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, "you really wanna pick a fight with me _now_?" and opened the passenger side door, lifting her inside and settling her against the seat.

* * *

On the drive back to their cabin, Booth called the sheriff, requesting that crime scene officers be dispensed to the home of Jamie Michaels to document the new evidence that had been left behind. Then, once they'd arrived at their destination, Booth cut the engine and jumped out, going around to his partner's side and opening the door for her before she could say a word.

Instead of carrying her this time, he helped her to stand, and then allowed her to use him as a brace as she limped inside. "Next time, Booth, keep the first-aid kit in the trunk with the bullet-proof vests."

"I normally do," he sighed. "This was a fluke thing."

He led her into the bathroom and instructed her to sit on the lid of the toilet while he went to retrieve the kit. When he returned, he wet a cloth to carefully clean up the blood that had begun to dry, moving around the wound with extreme caution. He inspected the cuts closely. "Looks like you've got some splinters that need to be removed."

"I've never had splinters, so I've never had any removed -- will it hurt?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, it will. So you might want to have something to bite down on."

"And I'm assuming you won't let me use your hand?"

At this, he grinned. "Sorry. I kind of need my hand. Here..." He rinsed the cloth he'd used to clean her, wrung it out, and then handed it to her. "Bite on this."

Tempe furrowed her brow at him momentarily before taking the cloth from his hand, placing it between her lips. Booth raised his eyebrows and held up the pair of tweezers he'd taken from the kit. "Ready?"

With a nod of acquiesce from his partner, Booth went to work. As he began to pull the first -- rather large -- splinter out, he flicked his eyes up to hers only to find them squinted shut tight in pain, muffled whimpers escaping around the wash cloth. "I know," he murmured soothingly. "I know."

He pulled the second one loose and winced when she cried out. "Sorry," he apologized sincerely. "That was a big one." He used his free hand to grasp one of hers. "Here. Hold my hand."

Several more splinters had to be pulled, and for every one he pulled out, Tempe squeezed his hand a little bit tighter until it got to the point where Booth was positive she would break his fingers. Finally, he'd pulled them all and discarded them in the trash bin next to the sink. He smiled at her as she leaned her head back against the wall.

"That was torture," she breathed.

"And unfortunately, I'm not done yet."

"There are more!"

He shook his head. "No, but I have to put hydrogen peroxide on the cuts before I bandage you up. Otherwise you could get an infection."

"Can I bite down on your hand this time?"

He chuckled and unscrewed the top of the brown bottle of peroxide. Dumping a rather generous amount onto the discarded washcloth, he replied, "No, and you don't have the washcloth to bite down on, either."

"So what am I supposed to do?" She winced and sucked in a breath when he pressed the cloth against the cuts on her shin.

"Well... it won't take a lot of focus for me to do this, so I have a solution if you promise not to bite."

"And what's that?"

Booth leaned in then and captured her lips while he continued to rub the hydrogen peroxide on her cuts. Tempe, for the most part, was able to forget the pain at the feel of Booth's lips cherishing her own. She cupped his face in her hands and tilted her head as she deepened the kiss, whimpering loudly into his mouth when the cloth ran over a particularly deep cut.

"I know it hurts, baby," she heard him whisper, "but I'm almost done, I promise."

Her heart skipped wildly at the term of endearment he'd let slip, though her eyes popped open in alarm. Since when did he have a pet name for her? Tempe didn't have much time to process that, however, as Booth broke away and tossed the washcloth into the sink. He then wrapped her leg in gauze before he scooped her into his arms and kissed her again, carrying her into her bedroom.

He set her down and she slid down his body gracefully, like a ballerina after a lift. He smiled then and cupped her cheek. "Get changed. If what just happened is any indication, we're going to have a full day tomorrow, so we'll both need some sleep."

Tempe watched as he left the room to give her privacy, though her heart was calling him back. These feelings that had been pricking at her here and there over the past several months were now coming at her full force because of tonight. Being stuck out in that car, not knowing what was happening to Booth, had scared her into a realization -- she had feelings for him. Feelings that posed quite the dilemma -- how would she hide them if they were to continue their physical relationship? How could she keep up the facade of it being nothing personal, when suddenly it had gotten very personal?

After she'd finished changing, she sat down on the bed and closed her eyes, heaving a weary sigh. Images of being in the car, left alone under the eerie yellow moonlight came flooding back to her. She saw herself leave the car and run up to the house, and she shivered as the feeling of being watched came back to her. "Booth," she called automatically.

Booth poked his head inside the room, the rest of his body following. He leaned against the door jamb and slipped his hands into his pockets. "All changed? Well, I guess it's time to say goodnight then, Bones."

She shook her head. "No."

He tilted his own at her. "You need sleep. We both do, or we'll be zombies at the scene tomorrow."

"Don't leave me."

Those three words brought him to her side in two quick steps, and he sat down next to her, pulling her close. When she didn't resist, he furrowed his brow. "What's the matter, Bones?"

She shook her head against his chest. "I just can't shake this feeling..."

"What feeling?"

"Of being watched. I felt it at that cabin... when I got out of the car to go inside. I felt it when I was going down the hall, toward the bathroom. I felt it again, just now. I can't explain it, and I know it's completely irrational, but just... don't leave me alone tonight. Please."

"Okay. I'll stay."

"And I don't mean to take advantage, I mean... it's nothing personal, and if you want to sleep in your own bed that's fine, but--"

"Bones." Booth laid a finger across her lips to silence her and smiled when she blinked apologetically. He pulled his finger away and leaned in to kiss her gently, feeling the tension riddle her body before he pulled away. "It's fine. I'll stay." He nodded toward the head of the bed. "Go get under the covers. I'll change and be right back."

"Thank you."

He chuckled. "You say it like it's an inconvenience for me, Bones. It's not."

Before she could process that information, he left to go change... returning no more than twenty seconds later and sidling under the covers beside her. He bid her goodnight with a warm, yet devastatingly-handsome smile, and turned out the light, lying down on his back and stuffing one arm under the pillow behind his head.

Tempe, also on her back, watched him get situated a moment before she turned on her side, facing away from him. She closed her eyes and felt the yellow moonlight behind her eyelids. She shivered unconsciously.

Booth felt the tremor in the mattress moreso than he saw her shiver... and he turned his head. "Bones?"

She drew in a shaky breath, trying to calm her racing heart by telling it silently that she was okay. He was here with her, and nobody was watching. "Goodnight, Booth," she whispered.

His eyes traced her form in the near-dark, wandering along the curve of her waist. He moved closer when he felt her shiver again, and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her back against him and spooning himself around her. When he felt her begin to protest, he lowered his lips to her ear, dusting kisses along it. "Nothing personal, Bones," he assured her. "Not if you don't want it to be."

Tempe snuggled back into the comfort he was offering and placed her hand near her head, smiling when he took it in his own. She pulled their joined hands closer and rested her cheek on his knuckles as she blinked into the darkness. _Nothing personal... if she didn't want it to be._

As Booth then nuzzled the back of her neck, burrowing into her hair, she had to wonder -- what would he say if she _did _want it to be?

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES**: Y'know, I really gotta stop promising things, since I have no idea where the muse is going to end up taking me. Let me say this -- I **hope **to have more BB-love in the next chapter. Y'hear that, muse? She's making a liar out of me._

* * *


	6. Just Feel

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I didn't intend to get the sixth chapter done so quickly (or to post it so quickly), but what can I say? The more reviews I get, the more I'm inspired to keep right on truckin'. You guys rule all. Oh yeah, and we're definitely back in M-rating territory, here. FINALLY. Jeez. I had a little chat with the muse about tossing in some BB-love. After much struggling, she agreed, and here's the result:

* * *

The eerie yellow moonlight was gone. The chirping of the crickets had been replaced by the chirping of the birds. There was no longer a reason to be irrationally afraid... especially not while Temperance Brennan was safely enclosed in the arms of her partner, Seeley Booth. She felt the sun behind her closed eyes and stirred, not wanting to succumb to a state of wakefulness just yet.

She'd woken up right away all her life -- whether it was her radio alarm or biological alarm rousing her from sleep. For now, it just felt good to remain in limbo... in that pleasant, fuzzy place between sleeping and waking. She felt Booth's warm body shift behind her... felt his lips press against the back of her neck, and she fought the gasp. Did he know she was awake? Was _he_ even awake?

She felt his nose rub back and forth against the base of her neck, an -- what did Angela call it once? -- an 'Eskimo kiss'? His body slid downward and the gentle kisses and nuzzles continued along her spine. Tempe's skin tingled with each touch, the tingles spreading to every point on her body until a dull ache began. His lips touched the place where her skin boasted dimples on her lower back, on each side of her spine... and this time she couldn't hold it in -- she gasped.

Tempe could have sworn she felt him smile against her skin as he continued planting kisses in that highly sensitized area, each scrape of his lips sending a bolt of arousal straight to her core. His palm curved around her waist, to her abdomen, where his fingers spread against her skin. Booth held her as he kissed his way back up her spine, moving her hair out of the way to plant kisses along the curve of her neck.

She choked back a moan and fought the urge to reach back and just grab him for a kiss... almost wanting to pretend she was still asleep. She kept her eyes buttoned closed and waited, anticipating what he would do next. She still felt his smile against her skin, then let out another gasp as the tip of his tongue traced down her neck, flicking at the hollow of her shoulder.

Tempe squirmed against him -- not in protest, but in ecstasy -- and felt his prominent arousal against the small of her back. Booth had to know she was awake. She knew him well enough to know he would never take advantage of her in this way unless he knew she was awake. That thought was confirmed as he leaned up to take her earlobe between his lips, breathing, "Good morning."

"Time to get up," she hummed, though her heart and body ached to be one with his again.

Apparently, he was rather adept at mind-reading, because he rolled her onto her back and shook his head at her. "Not yet." A roguish grin spread across his lips and Tempe damned her weak soul for wanting to melt at the sight.

Booth slid his hand down the center of her body, his fingers toying with the hem of her camisole... and her mind screamed at her to fight him. There was still work to be done, still a case to be solved. But her body and heart were begging her to give in. He'd been so good to her lastnight... tending to her wounds, staying with her when she was battling her irrational fears... but it was getting personal. It was so dangerously close to becoming personal. And he didn't want that, did he?

What Angela had said came back to her -- _Booth's not gonna wait around forever for you to get a clue. _She didn't know what that meant. Did that mean Booth already had feelings for her, and was waiting for her to catch on?

"Stop it, Bones."

She paused at this. Had she done something? "What?"

He cupped her cheek and turned her eyes to his, smiling down at her. "Analyzing. You do it too much."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm an anthropologist. It comes with the territory."

"Well for once, stop." Booth leaned over her, bracing himself on his toes and with his hand pressed into the mattress by her head. The other hand was busy pushing her camisole up her body. He tilted his head at her. "Y'know, since we started this, it's been on your terms, and we've gone by your rules. No more."

"What?"

"Today we're gonna go by my rules. And the rules are -- no more rationalizing, no more analyzing." He leaned close to her and nipped at her lips, "just feel," before he seduced her with a deep kiss.

_Just feel. _Tempe gasped into his mouth and kissed back hungrily, finally disconnecting her mind from her heart and body. _Just feel. _

And she did. She felt his tongue getting reacquainted with hers... felt him requesting the removal of her shirt... felt herself arching her back to give him what he wanted... felt their lips break apart as he pulled the camisole from her body. She felt his eyes marking her as their lips came together again, his free hand now roaming the newly exposed skin. She gasped when he broke the kiss to lavish her torso with kisses... with little nips and licks. She felt her body jerk in response to the slow seduction.

Tempe felt her heart swell when he looked up and met her eyes while running a finger along the waistband of her satin sleep shorts -- requesting permission to take them off. She nodded in acquiesce and felt his smile pierce her soul, felt her skin jump when he planted kisses around her navel, his hand busy tugging her shorts down. She lifted her hips instinctively, wanting them off just as badly as he did... and she suddenly felt deprived when she noted he still had all his clothes on.

"Not fair," she protested.

He stopped, confused. "What's not?" He looked down at his position, hovering over her body, and threw her a rakish grin. "Told ya already, Bones. I like to be on top."

She shook her head and pushed him off of her, adoring the look of disappointment to cross his features. She smirked and reached for his beater, pulling it over his head. "It's not fair that you have clothing on and I'm stark naked."

"Ah." He nodded slowly, finally understanding... then threw her another grin, this one wide and devilish. "Well, then by all means, let me even things up."

He quickly stripped himself and Tempe shoved away her brain's nagging that she shouldn't stare... instead raking her gaze over all of him. He smiled as if knowing what she was thinking, and returned to her, kissing her lips with urgency. She raked her nails down his back -- he seemed to enjoy that a lot -- as encouragement for him to continue. His hands fervently roamed her body, touching any bit of skin he could reach, and she smiled against his lips.

His kiss then deepened... slowed... as did his caresses. Tempe melted into the pace he was setting, following his lead. "I want this to last," he whispered in her ear before kissing down her jawline.

She pulled back to look into Booth's eyes, and what she saw shining in the sable depths left her speechless. _Just because you haven't **heard** anything doesn't mean he hasn't been trying to **tell **you anything. _This was what Angela had meant. Her heart lurched.

Booth brought their lips together again, the open-mouthed kiss tender and loving but still highly erotic... and Tempe could hear what he was trying to tell her. She saw what Angela had been trying to clue her in to. Booth had feelings for her. "Booth..." the sound came out muffled against his lips.

"Yeah?" He held her bottom lip between his teeth and stroked it playfully with his tongue.

"Since we're playing by your rules... do you have any about making this personal?"

He froze above her, both hands pressed to the mattress on either side of her head. His mouth opened and closed on unformed words, before he finally sputtered out, "It-it won't be, if you don't want it to be. That's my rule on that."

Tempe took a deep breath, suddenly feeling as nervous as a virgin -- and if she was being honest with herself, she didn't even feel this vulnerable when she _was_ a virgin. She exhaled shakily. "What happens, um... if I want it to be?"

Booth searched her eyes, his own twinkling as a slow smile spread across his lips. He leaned down to her, kissing her slowly and sweetly. "Then it will be."

He settled into the cradle of her hips while he continued to kiss her tenderly, and she broke away to cup his face in her hands. "Booth..."

"Yeah?"

She held his gaze as she whispered, "Go slow."

At this, he couldn't help but give a half smirk. He stroked down her body. "Bones, I hate to break it to ya, but... you're not a virgin."

Tempe continued to hold his eyes with her own as she nodded slowly. "Where this is considered? Yes, I am."

And it was true. She'd had sex before -- granted, she hadn't had as many partners as maybe Angela or even Booth -- but this? Making love? She'd never done that before. And where her heart was concerned, she _was_ still a virgin. Her body she'd already given to a man long ago, but never her heart. And, when Booth slid slowly inside of her, their eyes locked, and her heart surrendered to him of its own volition.

They moved together and she gave up the fight. It was one she wouldn't have won, anyway. She should have known falling for Booth would have been inevitable.

He leaned down to bring their lips together and she hooked her arms under his... clasping his shoulders to bring him closer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight as their hips moved in tandem. Each thrust inside her nudged her a little higher toward the clouds, a feeling she was becoming addicted to. She threw her head back against the pillows and Booth stole the opportunity to cover her exposed throat with kisses.

"You feel so good," he whispered in her ear, and she shivered against him, holding him tighter.

Tempe could feel herself panting now, the exertion of being almost at the brink causing a sweat to break out across her brow. It was almost as if Booth knew... and just before she could reach the crest, he would slow his hips and bring her back down... only to speed up again moments later, trying to send her to oblivion. She was dizzy, intoxicated, feeling pleasure and torture and a million things all at once. She wanted that pleasant euphoria, but at the same time she wanted to be joined with Booth forever... wanted to feel every sensation as long as possible.

She heard his voice again, calling her name -- her first name. "Temperance... open your eyes."

She complied, and when their eyes locked, her mouth gaped. His eyes widened at the look in hers, and he covered her mouth to conceal the loud keening sound that cascaded past her lips. Her entire body convulsed with the force of her climax, and she was positive she would black out for days -- never had she felt anything so intense.

Tempe _did_ black out, but she was sure it was only for a moment, as when she opened her eyes again it was to find a sweat-dusted Booth sprawled bonelessly atop her. She pressed her head back into the pillows again as a satisfied sigh escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes as she raked her fingers through Booth's hair.

"Am I crushing you again?" Booth asked, this time slurring the question into her breasts.

She found herself laughing at his exhausted tone. "Yeah, you are. But I don't want you to leave just yet, so we have a dilemma."

"Good thing I've got a solution." With his arms still wrapped tight around her waist, he flipped them so that he was lying on his back and she was sprawled on top of him.

She laughed again and propped herself up on his chest, leaning her forearms on him while she continued to stroke through his hair. Her grin was ear-to-ear as she repeated her tease from yesterday, "Way to take charge, Booth," and she kissed him.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_**MORE Author's Notes: **More on the case in the next chapter! _


	7. On the Job

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Just as a pre-emptive warning for everyone, these following chapters won't be posted as speedily as the previous six have been. I'm sure you all know how RL tends to get in the way. That and the fact that I'm writing for several fandoms at the moment. Enjoy this one nonetheless, and hopefully I'll have eight up soon!

* * *

Booth and Bones were able to get in a few more hours of rest before a cell phone rang, waking Booth. Groggily, he lifted his head and glanced at the clock. Nine-thirty... it was probably the sheriff. He kissed Bones' cheek and gently rolled her off him, smiling when she just snuggled into his side in response. He then reached for the cell phone and pulled it to his ear. "Booth."

"Agent Booth?" It was Zack Addy, one of the chief members of Bones' 'squint squad.'

"Yeah, that's what I said. Booth."

"I... thought I called Dr. Brennan's phone. I did, didn't I?"

Booth's eyes widened, and he pulled the phone away from his ear long enough to give it a glance and realize that it was, in fact, Bones' cell phone. He closed his eyes. "Shit."

"Booth?" She awoke at his side and caressed his chest, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

He leaned away before she could reach his lips and handed her the phone, mouthing, "Zack."

She furrowed her brow and took the phone from him, tucking the sheet under her arms as she sat up. "Zack?"

"Dr. Brennan, why did Agent Booth answer your phone? And why do you both sound like you just woke up?"

Tempe closed her eyes and covered them with her hand, sighing as inaudibly as she could. "We were up late working on case files, and I guess we just fell asleep. What do you have for me, Zack?"

"I cleaned and examined the four sets of remains Agent Booth sent, and found the same apparent cause of death for all four -- multiple stab wounds to the chest. I made a mold of the cuts on the ribs, and we were able to determine that a five-inch, double-sided dagger was used on all four victims."

"Thanks, Zack."

"Hodgins also analyzed some wood splinters we found embedded in each victim's skull... said it looked like it was treated. He said he'll call later with more specific details."

"Okay, thanks."

"Uhh... and it appears as though Angela would like to speak to you. She keeps pinching my arm -- ow!"

Tempe rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile, that smile growing all the wider when she heard Angela's knowing, sing-song greeting. "Heeey, Sweetie..."

"Ange, what's up?"

"So I hear Booth answered your phone! As if the tie, and you in his tee-shirt wasn't a dead giveaway... spill!"

Booth smirked to himself, able to hear Angela loud and clear over the phone, and turned when his own began to ring. After double-checking to make sure that it was, in fact, his own cell phone, he pulled it to his ear. "Booth." He paused. "Yes, sheriff. Yes, we'll be down as soon as we can." He hung up quickly and tossed the phone onto the bed. "Bones, we gotta go."

She smiled her thank-you at him before telling Angela, "I'll have to call you later. The sheriff just called and we're needed at the scene."

"Alright, well you're not getting out of giving me all the horny details!"

"I'm well aware of that. Bye, Ange." She hit the 'end' button and sighed, then smiled up at Booth. "Thank you. You just saved me from an hour-long interrogation."

He chuckled and leaned down to brush his lips against hers, both sighing as Booth reached up to cup her face in his hands. When he pulled away slowly... so slow that both could feel the exact second their lips ceased to touch... he kept his eyes closed and leaned their foreheads together. "So... can I ask?"

Tempe smiled with eyes closed before pulling back slightly to look up at him. "Ask what? If it's something filthy, I reserve the right to decline answering."

He grinned and shook his head. "No, it's nothing 'filthy.'" He then gave her a roguish look. "We'll save the dirty talk for later."

She rolled her eyes and rose to her feet, heading for the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower now, Booth."

"Wait a minute, wait." He grabbed her elbow and spun her around, chuckling when she bumped into the wall in the process. "I didn't get to ask..."

She chuckled back. "Ask what, Booth?"

His hands found her shoulders, rubbing tenderly as he regarded her with furrowed brows. "What changed your mind?" He gestured between them, "about this, about... us."

"I just realized that I was... trying to _make_ it be impersonal, because it was _so_ personal already. Even before we had..." She trailed off and gestured to the bed.

He grinned. "Sex? You can say it, Bones. You know it's not a dirty word."

"We were personal before we had sex, so to assume that we could keep it _im_personal was sort of... stupid." She putzed with her fingers and Booth took them in his own, kissing each of her knuckles. "And Angela said some things that made me think."

"Like what?"

She shrugged and leaned back against the wall near the bathroom door, pulling Booth with her until their bodies connected from toe to pelvis. "Basically that I knew virtually everything except how to handle myself when a real relationship presents itself... and that you and I have been in a relationship since day one."

"Well..." Booth's shrug was facial. "In a way, that's true. A partnership is a relationship."

"She said the parameters of our relationship keep changing."

"Why did she say you didn't know how to handle yourself in a real relationship?"

"Because it's true. I don't, really. I've never had a 'real' relationship before. And, anytime I get close to having one, I... tend to run."

Booth leaned in, planting gentle, playful pecks along Tempe's lips. "Well, no more running," he replied between kisses. "Because if you run, I fully intend to chase you down and bring you back to me."

She chuckled at the mere image of Booth chasing her down at full speed. "I could handle that."

"Now, about this shower business..." His voice dropped low and he peered at her through his lashes, a devilish smirk plucking at one corner of his lips. "Wanna share?"

* * *

"Can't believe you wouldn't let me shower with you," Booth complained, pouting slightly at the steering wheel of the SUV.

Tempe tilted her head at him, a slow smile spreading. "Booth, you know what would've happened. The sheriff was expecting us."

"Y'know, it's times like that I wish you had no sense of work ethics whatsoever."

"I promise, we can chuck the work ethics later. For now, we've got a case that still needs to be solved." Before he could reply, she added, "and while we're sort of on the subject, still... please try to not flirt with me while we're working the scene."

Booth grinned, and side-spied her as he pulled into the driveway of their victim's cabin and parked. "Bones, I don't know if you ever took the time to notice, but... I've been flirting with you on the job since we met."

She fought the smile, though it was one of the toughest things she'd had to do. "Well, stop it. The other officers will think we're unprofessional."

"No, I think the other officers would understand completely. Have you seen yourself lately, Bones?"

Tempe sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt, pushing her door open. "I'm exiting the car now, Booth."

He chuckled, unbuckling his own belt and opening his door. "And you're still the hottest thing in town."

They made their way toward the cabin side-by-side, each sobering at the memory of what they had found the night before. The sheriff met them on the porch after having dismissed two of his crime scene officers. "We were able to lift some footprints both from inside the house, and from out back. Our guys are takin' 'em back to the lab to run 'em through the computer. It's gonna take awhile, but hopefully we'll be able to get something out of it."

Booth nodded. "Have a handwriting analyst take a look at what was written on the mirror, see if they can tell us anything about the type of person that wrote it."

"You say this person called you with information?"

"Yeah." Booth pulled out his cell phone immediately and browsed his call list. He showed it to the sheriff once he'd found the correct incoming call. "Jot this down and have one of your guys run a trace. If this guy's any good, it'll probably come back as a pay phone number, but... just in case."

"Was there anything else found out of place, sheriff?" Tempe asked, her eyes on the various crime scene officers packing up their kits.

"Nothing, from what I could tell. Although there were some cigarette butts found in the flower beds out front, here. Some of them were new, some of them looked pretty old."

Booth shrugged. "Miss Michaels could've been a smoker."

The sheriff shook his head. "Not according to her neighbor. Not a smoker, not even a drinker."

Tempe furrowed her eyebrows at this. "Her remains were recovered from behind a bar in D.C."

The sheriff took a moment to pull out his notes from the day before and study them. "The vic's ex was a bartender, according to the neighbor. Used to tend bar at a little place in town."

Booth raised his eyebrows. "And where is he now?"

"That has yet to be known. Our guys are on it. Now, Agent Booth, I need to get a statement from you about what you saw last night."

He nodded, then reached out to lightly touch his partner's arm, promising, "I'll be right back," before he went off with the sheriff.

"Ready to go?"

Booth's voice nearly startled Tempe out of her skin when he approached from behind, and she slowly rose to her feet from examining the flower beds. "Go where?"

"Back to D.C. There's nothing more for us to do here. The sheriff will keep us apprised of any new evidence that may come along."

"Good. I'd like to look at where the bodies were found anyway. I actually wanted to do that _yesterday_, but since you dragged me away on this field trip..." She raised her eyebrows at him accusingly.

He templed his hands together, miming a plea. "I promise I'll make that up to you."

"Oh yeah, and how will you do that?"

He opened the passenger side door for her despite her protests, and leaned impossibly close to her ear to whisper, "I'll let you be on top this time."

Tempe ducked her head to hide the face-splitting grin she was currently sporting, and turned slightly over her shoulder to address her partner. "What did I say about flirting on the job?"

"Oh, that wasn't flirting, babe. That was a full-on promise."

"Are you sure about that? It sounded an awful lot like flirting," she sighed, throwing him a coy look as she climbed in and buckled her seatbelt.

"Alright, so maybe it was. Old habits die hard. Now let's get back to the cabin and pack our bags _quickly_. I've got a promise to keep."

* * *

TBC

* * *


	8. Details

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
CHAPTER EIGHT: Details

* * *

"Booth..."

Tempe collapsed, sated and sweaty, onto the chest of her partner, who wrapped his arms tight around her and lolled his head back against the pillows. "Agent Seeley Booth is unavailable at the moment, so if you'll leave your name and number..." he panted, closing his eyes.

Tempe laughed and propped herself up on his chest with what little strength she had left, folding her arms across him and leaning forward to plant kisses along his stubbly chin. "Booth, this is probably a bad time, but... we need to drive back to D.C. If we leave now we'll be back at the Jeffersonian by at least six or seven o'clock tonight."

He sighed, just barely mustering enough strength to lift his head and look at her. "You're really that anxious to start doling out the details to Angela?"

She pondered this for a moment, then decided, "You're right. Maybe we've got just a little bit more time to kill," before kissing him again.

"That's my girl," he breathed against her lips, and wrapped his arms tight around her in an attempt to roll them over on the bed.

Tempe realized the emphasis was on the 'attempt' as she and Booth had not moved. She chuckled into his mouth. "Need some help?"

"Yes, please. And a saline IV if you've got it." While she reversed their positions, Booth worked on trying to prop himself up on his elbow... though it was quite a difficult task with his depleted strength. "God, I didn't know what I was getting into with you." At the sudden look of alarm on her face, he smiled and kissed her. "You wear me out, woman."

She pouted her lips at him mockingly and ran a finger down his chest, enjoying the sharp intake of breath when it slid past his abdomen. "What? The tough-guy FBI agent isn't strong enough to handle a little sex?"

He raised his eyebrows. "A _little_ sex? Sure, no problem. But powerhouse _marathon_ sex? Come on, Bones. Even marathon _runners_ would be worn out."

Tempe sighed and slid out from under him, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Alright, well, if you want to get going we can--"

He grabbed her playfully and flung her back against the pillows with a sudden burst of energy, trailing kisses down her neck. "I don't believe a formal complaint was ever issued, Bones. I was just implying that you're insatiable."

"Insatiable?" she fought to keep the argument running even as he slid his tongue down her body, "I believe you were the one who initiated the second and third times -- oh!" She began to pant, and as Booth continued his torturous ministrations beneath the sheets, the ability to string two coherent words together was getting tougher and tougher. "And... and if -- oh, don't stop, Booth, right there -- that if... if anyone is... is insatiable, it's... it's you!"

Pretty soon, he had her flying once again, and her cries echoed in their guest cabin, slowly diminishing as she calmed. Her chest rose and fell sharply as she struggled to regain her breath, and she smiled when Booth kissed his way back up her body, nestling into the side of her neck as he draped an arm and leg across her protectively. She noted the smug grin on his face, and was just waiting for it...

"You're welcome, baby. Ow!" He grabbed the shoulder that she had sucker-punched and scowled at her.

"Now that you've got your energy and your ego back, why don't you get us packed. I'm going to nap."

Booth shook his head, though he was already on his feet and pulling on his clothes. "You really _are_ bossy."

Tempe opened one eye to give him a look. "Don't start with me or I'll wear you out again."

"Promises, promises," he snipped, but they were both grinning ear-to-ear as Booth left the room.

* * *

"I can't believe we have to get up and walk around again," Booth sighed, shaking his head at the Jeffersonian Institute in front of him.

They sat parked in the lot, staring forlornly at the building as if a punishment awaited them inside. Booth suddenly turned to his partner. "Hey, I got an idea."

A rather drowsy Tempe turned exhaustion-lidded eyes up to him. "We sneak into my office and actually _sleep_ for, like, an hour?"

He shook his head. "No," and pointed to her phone. "Why don't you call Zack and Hodgins, and tell them to meet us out here with a coupla those spiffy little motorized cart things."

She tilted her head admonishingly. "Booth... as painful as it sounds right now, we need to get back to work." When he frowned, she smiled. "My muscles are complaining just as much as yours are, but sitting around like two lumps isn't going to help at all. And it sure as hell isn't going to solve our case. Now come on."

"Hey! You're back!" Angela was the first to greet them as they shuffled into the Medico-Legal Lab, and immediately her radar was up. "You guys can't walk, can you?"

Tempe did her best to shoot a reproachful look at her friend. "What's new with the case, Ange?"

"Ask Zack and Hodgins." She folded her arms across her chest and gave them a knowing grin, her tone lilting. "What's new with _you_ guys, in the meantime? Any interesting stories to share?"

"Yes, actually." Booth sent a covert, reassuring wink when Tempe looked to him sharply. "Bones had her first experience with multiple..." He paused for effect upon seeing Angela's widened eyes, before finishing with a grin, "splinters."

While Tempe turned to hide a relieved, yet smug smile, Angela gave Booth a look. "Multiple _splinters_? That's your big exciting story?"

He shrugged, "Well, yeah," and then feigned innocence. "Why? What did you _think_ I was gonna say?"

Angela just gave him another look, hiding her smirk as she then set off to find Zack and Hodgins. Booth winked at Tempe once more and held out his hand in a request for her to give him 'five'. Tempe just stared blankly, not understanding, until he put his hand down.

* * *

"Sweetie? Sweetie, wake up," the chuckling voice of her best friend broke through the lovely, fuzzy dark fog Tempe had fallen into.

"Hmm?" She immediately scrubbed a hand over her face, glancing at the nearby clock. She'd slept for two hours.

She and Booth had parted ways so that she could speak with Zack and Hodgins while he went to interview the families of the other victims. Then, she'd gone back to her office to find their case file, and... had apparently fallen asleep.

"You are absolutely beat." Angela plopped onto her couch, sprawling her legs out in front of her while she threw her friend a huge grin. "Must have been quite the marathon sex weekend you two had."

Tempe immediately rolled her eyes. "It was not a marathon sex weekend, Ange."

"So how good is he?"

"Ange."

"Sweetie, you've avoided these details long enough." She turned her hand palm-up and repeatedly bent her fingers inward then outward, coaxing the information out. "Come on. Give." She sighed. "Obviously, the first time it happened was Friday night. Correct?"

Tempe's eyes slid closed -- she knew she was pretty much cornered, and would not be getting out of this conversation even if Booth himself blew in here and swooped her up to take her away. "Correct."

"And how was that first time? Hot, right? Passionate? Maybe a little angry and aggressive since you two had just been fighting?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

"Okay, so when was the second time?"

"When we got to our guest cabin in New York. We were arguing."

"Man, is that all you guys do?"

Tempe raised her eyebrows. "Not anymore."

Angela barked a laugh at this, not expecting such a response. "So how is he? Mediocre? The best you've ever had?"

"I'll go with the latter."

"Oooh, really? Even better than your professor-man?"

"Yes."

"Nice! Can I borrow him?"

"Angela!"

Angela grinned. "Just thought I'd ask. Anyway... what happened after he stormed out on you last night?"

"We went to the victim's cabin, and... some creepy stuff happened... I ended up getting hurt--"

"How?"

"The deck gave way beneath my feet and my leg fell through." Tempe rolled her chair around the side of the desk and hiked up her pant leg to show Angela the bandages. "I was cut up pretty bad, and Booth had to pull several splinters from my leg."

Angela winced. "Okay, ouch. So he took care of you?"

"Yes, he cleaned and dressed my wounds. We went to sleep."

Angela's eyes widened. "Together?"

"Yeah. I didn't mean for us to, but I was just... still really creeped out by what had happened at that cabin."

"So then what?"

"Then we fell asleep, and I woke up to Booth, kissing down my back--"

"Oh my God, that's hot!"

Tempe let loose a grin, both at her friend's reaction and at the imagery she, herself, had conjured up. "That was when he told me that we weren't going to do this by 'my rules' anymore, and go by his rules."

"Rules? What rules?"

"For this new aspect of our relationship. Booth had said that this wouldn't get personal unless I wanted it to."

"Y'see, Sweetie? Booth was already there, and put the ball in your court. I told you."

"So I made my decision."

"And?"

"And... I had thought a lot about what you said over the phone, and how Booth has been acting this whole time. I thought about that, and I thought about how... being with him made me feel... and I decided that I wanted it to be personal." She jumped, startled, when Angela squealed excitedly, bouncing in her seat and clapping her hands.

"Yay! That's so awesome, honey. So you guys are, like, a couple now?"

Tempe nodded slowly, the mere thought putting a dreamy kind of smile on her face. Being a couple. With Booth. She and Booth as a couple. "Yeah, I guess we are."

"So who was on top most of the time?"

"Angela!"

She grinned. "Come on, Sweetie, just tell me."

Tempe rolled her eyes, but smirked... and eventually gave in. "He was."

"Ooooh." Angela tucked her legs up beneath her, crossing her legs at the ankle and placing her hands on her knees. "I read this thing in Cosmo about guys who like to be on top, and it said that those types of guys typically like to do things by the book, which is SO Booth," she babbled, "and it also says that this means they are faithful, loving boyfriends who will never let you down. So, my advice, Sweetie? You just keep right on using him as your personal blanket!"

This time Tempe was unable to control the flush to color her cheeks. "Ange!"

"Sorry."

"Nobody can know about this, okay? Not Zack, not Hodgins, nobody."

Angela grinned. "Aww, so I get to keep your secret?"

"Yes, and I'm trusting you with it."

"Okay, I'll be good. But that doesn't mean I won't tease you guys relentlessly for it."

"Hey Bones, you ready to head to that bar?" He chuckled when he'd taken a good look at his partner. "Are those sleep marks all over your face? Bones, you started without me?"

Angela cleared her throat pointedly and delighted in the flush Booth emitted upon realizing they weren't alone in the room. "Angela. Hello."

Her grin was wider than ever as she sang, "Hi, Booth. How are things?"

"Things? Y'know, they're good. Good." He cleared his own throat. "Bones, you wanna get out of here?"

"I bet you guys have some important 'work' to do," Angela emphasized the 'work' with air quotes.

Tempe immediately threw her a look. "You said you'd behave."

She nodded. "Yeah, and I also said I'd tease you relentlessly. Did you not hear that part?"

Booth settled his hand on the small of his partner's back and addressed Angela, "We really _do_ have work to do." He then ushered Tempe out the door. "C'mon Bones."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Sure, you do," she sighed, then called after them, "Happy humping!"

She laughed as a pencil was flung back into the office at her.

* * *

TBC

* * *

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Huge, huge THANKS! and a Booth-clone go to Heather (a.k.a. vashluver1) for the snippet about Cosmo, which neither she nor I own -- it's from the January issue in case anyone's interested in looking up the information. And Heather? YOU RULE! Y'know what? You get **two** Booth-clones! Use them as you see fit;)_


	9. Cold Trickle

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
CHAPTER NINE: Cold Trickle

* * *

"So this is where the bodies were found?" Tempe pulled on a pair of latex gloves, snapping them into place at her wrists, and began sifting through loose dirt in the alley behind the Horse's Hide, a popular D.C. bar. She threw a glance upward at Booth and found him smirking at her. She chuckled. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothin'... there's just," he crouched to her level and finished sotto voce, "something oddly erotic about watching you snap on the latex."

She ducked her head slightly as she exhaled her chuckle, a light pink staining her cheeks. "Booth... flirting."

"Sorry, sorry." He touched her back gently and rose to his feet. "It's hard."

Tempe looked at him over her shoulder, her gaze flitting briefly to the crotch of his trousers as she wondered just what exactly he was talking about, before she met his eyes. When he winked, she shook her head at him and turned back to the dirt. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"Yes, this is where all four bodies were found according to local PD."

"Kind of brazen to bury four bodies together behind a very busy bar, isn't it?" she queried, looking up to catch Booth's nod.

"Yeah. So this killer's either cocky as hell, or dumb as a rock."

"Well, if our killer is the same one who called you, I would have to go with the former option."

"You're right. And I got a call from the sheriff in upstate New York... he said nothing in particular came up on the shoe prints except for the fact that they're size elevens, and some sort of work boot. The trace on that number came back, too, and it was just like I thought -- pay phone. And they ran a DNA trace on those cigarette butts found out front. Some were older than the others, but the DNA came back as the same person -- an unidentified male donor."

"So the old ones could very easily be from Jamie's ex, since it was pointed out that he was a smoker. And since the new ones are a match... I guess we just have to figure out what he was doing there recently."

"Yeah. And maybe we should check for red lipstick on his hands?"

Tempe smiled. "So are you off to do your detective thing, and leaving me here to play in the dirt?"

"Well... do you wanna come with?" He waggled his eyebrows at her. "We could play 'good-cop-bad-cop.'"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I don't know what that means, but you definitely made it sound dirty."

Booth barked a laugh and helped her to her feet, directing her toward the car with his hand on her back. "Oh, sweetheart, trust me -- it's not dirty until I break out the cuffs."

* * *

"When was the last time you saw Miss Michaels?" Booth posed his question toward the man across the coffee table from himself and Bones -- Jamie's ex in the flesh, a Ted Vaughn.

"Several months ago, when she broke it off," Vaughn huffed, taking a drag off his cigarette before flicking the ashes into the tray on the coffee table. He set his cigarette in one of the ashtray's grooves and watched the smoke curl upward from the tip. "She got a job offer here in D.C., some sort of fashion... thing." He shook his head and held up his hands in an apology. "I'd be more specific, but I'm afraid I didn't pay much attention when it came to her job. All I know is that it was in fashion."

"So how did _you_ end up in D.C., Mr. Vaughn? Did you follow her?" Tempe asked, her eyes firmly centered on Vaughn's cigarette.

He snorted a laugh. "You kiddin'? For her? Don't think so, honey. Jamie was nice, and... we had our fun, but... she's not the kinda girl you'd uproot yourself for, y'know?"

"How did you end up here?" Booth repeated his partner's first question.

"Got a job offer, myself. The bar I'd managed back home was shutting down -- small town, not enough business, that whole story -- and I was in need of someplace to work. I'd been looking all over, wantin' to get outa that damn small town. I searched in Manhattan, Boston, Jersey, D.C. Turns out this bar in D.C. was lookin' for _me_. They heard I'd done good things for my own bar, back in the day. See, I was more than just a bartender."

He took one more drag off his cigarette and blew it out forcefully before stamping it out in the ashtray. "I promoted that bar. I booked local bands to come play, made my own advertisements when we were runnin' specials or doin' karaoke nights or shit like that. This bar in D.C., they liked that. So they offered me a job, and I took it."

"And what bar would that be, Mr. Vaughn?" Booth asked, eyes flitting toward Bones as she leaned forward, toward the coffee table.

Vaughn's eyes followed her as he answered, a bit distractedly, "The, uh... the Horse's Hide, over on M street." He furrowed his brows and addressed Tempe, "Darlin' just what in the hell are you doing?"

She was reaching toward the ashtray with careful precision, grasping the cigarette butt between the filtered end and the tip, holding it between her thumb and forefinger. "Do you mind if I take this?"

Vaughn was eyeing her as if she was insane. "Why?"

Tempe shrugged. "I, uh, used to smoke. I kinda miss the smell."

Vaughn raised his eyebrows, but made a sweeping gesture with his hand, "Be my guest, honey. Do what you gotta do, I guess."

She plastered on a smile, "Thanks," and reached into her bag at her side, stealthily slipping the cigarette butt into a small plastic bag before stuffing it into one of the pockets.

Booth's eyebrows flicked upward and he fought the smile at her behavior, turning back to Vaughn. "So that's the only reason you came to D.C.? To take a job at a bar? Your decision wasn't at all affected by the fact that you'd be in the same town again as your ex?"

Vaughn shrugged. "No, not really. I mean, I thought it was kinda weird -- me gettin' a job offer in the same city as _her_ job offer -- but it was a coincidence. That kinda shit happens all the time."

Booth nodded. "Sure it does."

"So you haven't been to her cabin recently, in upstate New York?" Tempe asked next.

He shook his head. "What reason would I have for goin' there? To raid her panty drawer?" He sneered.

Booth held his hand up. "Alright, I don't think that's any way to speak in front of a lady, Mr. Vaughn." He rose to his feet and gestured for Bones to follow suit. "If we have any more questions, can you be reached here?"

Vaughn rose to his feet as well. "Yeah, I guess, but... I'm not here all that much. My cell's probably the easiest way to reach me."

Booth nodded and held out a slip of blank paper. "If you'll jot that number down for us, Mr. Vaughn, we'll be on our way."

"Sure." He quickly scrawled the number and handed it back to Booth. "You'll let me know if you find out anything, Mr. Booth? About what happened to Jamie?"

"_Agent_ Booth," he immediately corrected, "and yes. We'll be in touch."

"Good. Musta been some sick son of a bitch that would wanna murder someone like Jamie." Vaughn eyed Tempe for a moment, his eyes flicking over her form, before he gestured to the door. "Want me to show you out?"

Booth shook his head and placed a hand protectively on the small of his partner's back. "I think we can find the front door on our own. Thanks."

They stepped outside and began heading for the car, Booth's hand dropping from her back only at her request that he stop coddling her. He shot her a look briefly. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Booth, if this new aspect of our relationship is going to cause you to get overprotective, then--" She stopped, both vocally and physically in her footsteps.

Booth, who'd still been walking, spun to face her when he noticed her absence at his side. "Then, what?" He furrowed his brow at the look on her face. "Bones?"

Tempe turned slowly over her shoulder, looking back toward the house of Ted Vaughn. She could have sworn she'd seen the flick of a curtain, but dismissed it, ignoring the cold trickle of fear that slid down her spine -- the same one she'd felt at the cabin upstate. She turned back to Booth.

"What's the matter, Bones?"

She shook her head, dismissing both his concern and any feelings of foreboding pricking at the back of her neck. If he was already this overprotective, there was no sense stirring him up further. "Nothing. Let's get the cigarette butt back to your lab guys at Quantico and have them analyze it."

Booth watched her a moment, gauging her expression and mannerisms before he nodded and they climbed into the SUV together. As he started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, Tempe kept her eyes on the curtains; watching... wondering.

* * *

TBC

* * *


	10. Giving a Lift

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
CHAPTER TEN: Giving a Lift

* * *

Booth found his partner standing with Angela, Zack, and Hodgins at the holographic display -- what had been dubbed by the squints as the 'Angelator' due to its creator, and the office in which it resided -- and Booth stepped up behind Bones as he began to catch what Angela was saying...

"From the positioning of the bodies when they were brought in, not to mention the general condition of all of the bones, I was able to sketch a mock-up of the possible way in which they were buried--" She hit a few buttons on the pad in front of her, using her stylus, and a new image appeared of the four bodies stacked one on top of the other.

"Like pancakes?" Hodgins questioned, a half smirk on his lips only until he received a reproachful look from Tempe; he apologized immediately.

"The grave would've had to have been shallow," Tempe surmised, pointing to the bodies, "with the manner in which they're buried."

Zack chimed in, "There was no way to pinpoint exact times of death for each victim, but it's safe to say that, according to the condition of the bones and the particulates found on each of them that they were all killed roughly at the same time, and with the same weapon."

"Yes, that five-inch dagger you mentioned," Booth stepped forward, and reached into his pocket, "which I happened to find a replica of thanks to a local pawn shop." He pulled out the dagger and set it on the edge of the table. "I took one of the molds with me for comparison, and this is the exact dagger."

"Any way to see how many have been sold from that pawn shop recently?"

Booth shook his head. "Can't. It's cash only, so there's no paper trail whatsoever to go on." He sighed. "I did get a call from my lab guys at Quantico, and the results came back on Vaughn's butt."

Angela, Zack, and Hodgins all snapped their heads around to look at Booth incredulously, and he emitted a slight smile as he amended, "_Cigarette _butt." He looked back up at Bones and found her smiling at him. He smiled right back, briefly, before getting down to the business at hand. "DNA was a match to the butts found at Jamie's cabin."

Tempe nodded slowly. "Okay. But that still doesn't necessarily mean that he was the killer. We need more proof. What other evidence do we have that we can try to link him to?"

"The bodies?" Zack offered, his naivete his only saving grace from Booth pulling his gun.

Tempe smiled at her assistant wanly. "More than that, Zack."

"We've got the size eleven shoe prints, the handwriting on the mirror."

"If he _was_ your killer, though," Angela piped up, "why would he go all the way to upstate New York to just call Booth and then scribble something on a mirror? It doesn't make any sense."

Booth shook his head. "It rarely does."

* * *

"Bones? Hey, Bones..."

Tempe looked up and gave her partner a tired smile as he re-entered the Jeffersonian, finding her busy shutting things down for the night. "Find anything else?"

Booth shook his head and slid his pass-card through the slot at the bottom of the steps before he was allowed entrance to the autopsy bay. He jogged up the few steps and was at her side in seconds, his hands finding her waist. "Nothing else that can link back to Vaughn, nope."

She smiled and kept her eyes on his hands, which were still around her waist while he pulled her close, her back colliding with his chest. "Booth... how many times do I have to remind you about the flirting thing?"

"Oh, I could have sworn that was just for 'on-the-job' situations only, Bones. And, as you can see, judging by the fact that we're the only ones in this place now..." He swept her hair off the side of her neck and began to plant kisses there, "We're not on the job."

Her eyes slipped closed and a wide smile broke forth. She tried half-heartedly to struggle, but Booth's lips on her skin made her promptly relinquish the fight. "I guess when you have a point, you have a point." She spun in his arms then and, off his grin, pulled him down to her for a deep, soul-searching kiss.

His hands stole up her back, his touch feather-light and highly arousing. She shivered, and sighed against his lips. He pulled her in tighter in response, pressing himself against her. She broke from his lips with a groan. "Not here, Booth."

His grin was cat-like; predatory. "Come onn..." his honeyed baritone seduced her, and scraped her senses like velvet. "You've never fantasized about having sex here, right in the middle of the Jeffersonian?"

"It's not sanitary. We'll go to my place." She gave him one last definitive peck on the lips before she broke away, resuming her task of shutting everything down.

He raised his eyebrows at her comment and quipped, "You wild woman, you," but obeyed nonetheless, waiting patiently for her against the railing until she was ready to go.

Booth led her to his car with his hand around her waist, and this time she didn't protest. Rather, she threw him a rather heart-fluttering grin. As he opened the passenger side door for her and watched her climb in, she asked, "What about my car?"

He shrugged. "If anyone asks, then you had car trouble and I gave you a lift home."

Tempe tilted her head at her partner as he shut her door and went around to the driver's side, her eyes following him the entire way. He slid the key into the ignition and turned to grin, feeling her eyes on him.

She was still regarding him through her lashes. "You know Angela's not going to buy that."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. But hopefully Dr. Goodman and the rest of the squints will."

Tempe rolled her eyes, but smiled at him as he tossed her another grin and shifted gears, pulling out of the parking lot and speeding toward her house.

* * *

"Booth, had you driven any faster we would've broke the sound barrier. And will you let me get my keys out? Hands off, for two seconds!"

"I love it when you get all bossy and domineering, Bones, it's such a turn-on. I just might let you be on top tonight."

Her keys jingled in her hand and she chuckled, leaning her head away from Booth as she tried to the fit the key in the lock. His lips chased after hers, and he gave up only to settle for latching on to her earlobe while his hands stroked her hips and thighs. "Boy, what a treat for me," she quipped in response to his comment, and her eyes slipped closed against his ministrations. She swayed slightly and felt his grin as he grasped her hips to steady her.

"Is that door unlocked yet, Bones?" Booth trailed hot, wet kisses down her neck, his fingers now fumbling with the buttons on her shirt.

She weakly reached for her key, still in the lock, just barely managing enough coherence to turn the deadbolt. "I think so... why?"

"Because I am about to tear your clothes off and sex you into next week whether we're on your doorstep or not."

Tempe grinned and reached behind her, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and dragging him inside as she teased, "You're such a cheeseball, Booth."

His grin was predatory again. "A cheeseball that's gonna sex you into next week, baby."

He kicked the door shut with his foot before his lips claimed hers, and after tossing her keys onto the table she became a willing and active participant. Her hands raked through his hair and slid down his face, gliding over his shoulders and inward to undo his shirt buttons.

"How do you want this?" he murmured breathlessly between kisses.

Her eyes popped open and locked on his while she sucked his bottom lip between her teeth. "What do you mean?"

A grin lit his eyes but didn't quite reach his otherwise-occupied lips as he helped her remove her shirt and replied, "Do you want fast and dirty or slow and romantic?"

Tempe gave him a smoldering look through her lashes in response. "How about we just let our bodies make the decision for us?"

Booth's eyes widened slightly, and he whipped his button-down shirt off, eagerly pulling his white beater over his head next. "I'm all for that. You're so smart." He attacked her lips again.

"Hmm, I know," she hummed, hooking her thumbs in his belt loops and backing toward her bedroom, effectively pulling him with her.

He pinned her to the wall in the hallway and slid his hand down the center of her body, spreading her button-down shirt open and gliding his hand down her abdomen, past the barrier of her pants. She sucked in a breath when that skilled hand slipped beneath the waistband of her panties, and--

"Oh, God!" Her head lolled back against the wall.

Booth grinned and lavished her now-exposed throat with open-mouthed kisses, pressing his arm to the wall above her head and leaning on it as his other hand worked her arousal to a fever pitch. When she began to buck against his hand and pant into his ear, he knew she was close; that was confirmed as she whimpered, "Booth, stop, stop. I'm going to--"

"No way, Bones," he replied nonchalantly and pressed his lips tight against her neck, sucking the skin into his mouth.

With one more gasp -- of his name, which sent his blood pressure soaring -- he felt her fly over the edge, her fingers clutching at his shoulders desperately. His kisses on her neck gentled, and he leaned up to kiss her lips again as he waited for her to calm.

When she did, she pulled away, and the look in her eyes nearly stopped his heart. "I need you. Now."

Booth groaned aloud at the raw lust in her voice and did as she bade, stripping himself and her at warp speed before his hands flew everywhere, his mouth covering her with kisses. "Shall I carry you to the bedroom?" He grasped her by the backs of her thighs and hoisted her up, locking her legs around his waist before he pinned her to the wall again.

She shook her head adamantly and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. "No." Before he could set her down, she reached between them and curled her fingers around his arousal, delighting in the rapid dilation of his pupils.

She smiled, her eyes locked on his as she leaned to kiss him again and guided him to her entrance, whispering, "I want you right here."

He groaned again and was powerless to stop himself from replying huskily, "God, I love you," before pulling her onto him.

Tempe threw her head back against the wall again and groaned, half in lust and half in pain as the back of her head hit the hard plaster. Each movement Booth made sent a whimper cascading from her lips, her nerve endings already over-sensitized from her recent climax, and before long he had her at the peak again.

She kissed along his shoulder, smiling at his slow motion, knowing he was trying to hold back for her. "Booth, you can go faster."

He whispered his thank you and they clung to each other -- and the wall -- for dear life, his hips speeding up. His words came back to her as they fell over the edge together, and as they slumped against the wall in a sweaty tangle of limbs, Tempe had to ponder the meaning behind those words.

Booth kissed her ear gently and guided her back to the floor, smiling when he had to grab her hips to brace her shaking legs. "Easy," he chuckled, his grin widening when she glared.

They got half-dressed in silence, throwing each other looks the entire time. Booth pulled his pants and boxers up but left the buckle unlatched, and pulled his button-down shirt on but left the buttons undone. Tempe stepped into her panties again and pulled them up, pulling her tanktop back on sans bra and smiling at him when she'd pulled it into place.

He smiled back and leaned to kiss her, slightly disconcerted when she pulled away after just a moment. "What?"

"Did you mean that?"

Booth searched the pair of clear blue eyes currently scrutinizing him, and furrowed his brow in a silent request for clarification. "Mean what?"

"Before, when we were about to..." She gestured to the wall.

His grin made her roll her eyes. "Have sex? Bones, I told you, you can say it. It's not dirty."

"When we were about to have sex, you-you said..."

As she trailed off, she saw the realization dawning on his features, comprehension finally reaching him. He nodded slowly and broke into a smile. "Yeah. Uh, it wasn't exactly the romantic scenario I had envisioned when I planned on telling you that, but that doesn't make it any less true."

"So you do--"

"Love you?" He finished, raising his eyebrows. He nodded again with another stunning smile. "Yeah, yeah I do."

Tempe smiled back when Booth pecked her cheek and patted her shoulder, buttoning his shirt as he brushed past her to head for the bedroom. He loved her. Booth loved her. She spun around, fully ready to tell him that she felt the same... when she caught the look on his face. She paused a moment and just studied him -- mouth open, staring straight at the mirror attached to her waist-high dresser. She chuckled. "What?"

That stunned look was turned on her as his head swiveled to meet her gaze. She raised her eyebrows and stepped toward him. "Booth, what?"

He looked around her room, eyes settling on the open window where the curtains were fluttering in the midnight breeze. He reached for her automatically, sensing her close, and drew her into the room as his eyes went back to the mirror.

When her gaze followed his she gasped, a hand flying to cover her mouth. Her already shaky legs began to give way beneath her and Booth caught her just in time, holding her against him as they stared at the garish red scrawling:

_I KILLED THEM ALL AND I'LL KILL YOU, TOO._

* * *

TBC 


	11. Urges and Impulses

TITLE: Nothing Personal  
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Urges and Impulses

* * *

Temperance sat in stiff silence, her mind not registering the bustle around her: the clicks of the crime scene photographer's flash-bulb; the red and blue lights alternating and passing across her living room from the squad cars outside; the low murmur of Booth and several officers. She couldn't even see her mahogany coffee table, right in front of her from her spot on the couch. All her mind's eye could see was that scrawled message on her bedroom mirror.

Her attention only diverted when she felt the couch cushion beside hers dip. Her head swiveled to find Booth beside her, his gaze concerned. She watched as he surreptitiously glanced over his shoulder, looking for prying eyes, before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. "You okay?"

She nodded on autopilot, though she knew her eyes were probably still vacant. When she leaned her head on his shoulder, she noted he had put his suit jacket back on. She then glanced down at herself, checking to make sure that, in her haze, she managed to redress as well.

She did.

"I'm so sorry this happened," he whispered, covertly dusting a kiss to her temple.

Tempe shook her head, conviction in her tone. "I'm not."

He leaned back slightly and gave her a once-over. "You're not?"

"No." She met his eyes, her own sparking with determination. "Because now we'll catch him even quicker, won't we?"

Booth grinned at this, and fought not to lean in and kiss her. "You got that right, Bones."

* * *

After being instructed to stay with a friend temporarily, Tempe and Booth made their way to his place, too exhausted to do anything else but curl up together for the night. The next morning, as soon as they arrived at the Jeffersonian, Tempe was pounced on immediately by Angela.

"Sweetie! God, are you okay? I heard about what happened!"

Booth nodded for her and placed his hand covertly, supportively on Tempe's back. "She's alright. Nothing was taken from her place, nothing was broken. It was just that threatening note in bright red lipstick."

Angela made a face. "Bright red?" She looked to her friend. "Sweetie, that doesn't sound like your color."

"It's not," Tempe sighed. "Booth thinks the killer brought it with him."

Angela raised her eyebrows. "So... what? Now we're looking for a transvestite killer that doesn't realize bright red should only be reserved for clowns and hookers?"

Booth tilted his head admonishingly, and Angela raised her hands in supplication. "Sorry, sorry. Bad joke."

Booth patted his partner on the back discretely and nodded in the direction of Hodgins' office. "I'm going to go see what else Hodgins has for us, alright? Stay here with Angela."

"Booth, I'm not a child. You don't have to coddle me."

His look, slightly wounded with a hint of frustration, stopped any more arguments she'd been about to make.

"You're right, you're not a child. You're my--" He stopped himself when he saw her widened eyes. He dropped his voice low, emphasizing each word to get his point across. "You're my partner, who's currently being watched by a psychotic killer. So excuse me if I get a little protective."

Tempe swallowed anything else she wanted to say, and just nodded while watching him walk away. She only tore her eyes from his form when she heard Angela's awed exhalation.

"Whoo, is he the hottest man alive, or what?"

Tempe rolled her eyes and shot her best friend a look, who held up her hands once again.

"Sorry, all I'm saying is... I'd totally let him manhandle me if you two weren't all..." She quirked her eyebrows. "Soulmate-y, and stuff."

Tempe sighed. "We should get back to work, Ange."

"No, first..." She draped an arm over her best friend's shoulders and steered her toward her office. "You need to tell me what the hell happened lastnight. And don't leave anything out."

* * *

"That's it?"

"That's it. The splinters embedded in each victim's skull is the same kind -- oak. And it's treated."

"So what does that mean?"

"Well, this particular treatment is a sealant used on only high-end hardwood floors. And, even though you didn't ask, I did some digging in my spare time..." Hodgins pulled up a sheet of paper from his desk. "This specific high-end oak is manufactured and distributed only in upstate New York."

Booth's eyebrows practically disappeared into his scalp. "So this means..."

Hodgins nodded. "This means your girls were most likely killed in that house upstate. All four of them. Together."

"Yeah, got it."

"Okay." After a moment, Hodgins glanced up at Booth, taking in the stress written clearly across the agent's face. Knowingly, he asked, "How is she?"

Booth looked up. "Brennan? She's... y'know, she's... her usual self."

Hodgins nodded. "Repressed, detached, demanding not to be coddled yet secretly feeling sorry for herself." He shrugged. "We're all used to that. You'll get used to it eventually, too."

"I don't want to. You know, she's gotta deal with this sometime. She's gotta let me... look out for her."

"Look, man, I may not know Brennan as well as Angela does, but I've seen and heard enough to know that she's pretty damn used to taking care of herself; looking out for herself. And I know that you guys have been partners for awhile now, but it still probably throws her off from time to time that somebody actually gives a damn. That somebody cares where she is and what she's doing all the time."

"It's not like I'm trying to suffocate her, I mean I know she's independent, but... I can't help it. It's just this weird urge I have to protect her." He rolled his eyes. "But I know that if I ever said that to her--"

Hodgins chuckled and nodded knowingly. "She'd go into a ten-minute diatribe about the ways of ancient man and how it relates to modern-day urges and impulses."

"I can't help it. I just--"

"You're in love with her."

Booth's eyes snapped up to meet Hodgins', who gave him a look and a smirk.

"I've got three doctorates. Not a lot sneaks past me, believe me."

Booth sighed and shook his head, his stress causing him to start pacing.

Hodgins watched this momentarily, studied the tense federal agent, before he asked quietly, "Have you told her?"

* * *

"He told you he loved you!" Angela nearly shrieked.

The sound, as usual, sent Tempe toward the door to close it. "Yes. He did."

Angela watched her friend's path back toward the couch. "Well did you say it back?"

"Everything was happening so fast. He said it, and then the next thing I knew, we were... y'know..."

Angela raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Fucking against the wall?"

"Ange!"

"Well, I'm sorry Brenn, but 'making love' against a wall is just not possible. If you're up against a wall, then you're--"

"I understand," she replied tersely.

Angela sighed and shook her head, staring at nothing in particular on the coffee table. "And I gotta say, honey -- against the wall? I never knew you had it in you." She shrugged facially. "Of course, I suppose if you have Booth in y--"

"That's quite enough, thank you." Tempe closed her eyes and began to rub one of her temples.

Angela studied her friend. "So are you really okay?"

* * *

"It's fine. Really. I don't care. I'm not the type to stress over what was said and not said."

"Yeah, but... you put yourself out there, man," Hodgins reasoned with a shrug. "You gotta expect at least a little response."

"Oh, I got a response... just not the coherent kind."

Hodgins raised an eyebrow. "Really? Care to elaborate?"

Booth shook his head. "Nope."

"Dammit." Hodgins turned the light off under the microscope he'd been using. He glanced up at Booth again. "So do you think it's that Vaughn guy?"

He got a shrug in response. "I don't know. He's our most plausible suspect--"

"And your only suspect," Hodgins interjected.

"Right. Plus the way he was looking at Brennan when we interviewed him just got my hackles up."

"Where is he now?"

Booth's brows knit together in contemplation for a moment, before he met Hodgins' eyes. "That is a very good question."

"It is?" His own eyebrows raised, as it wasn't often he acquired praise from Booth.

"Yeah. I think maybe I'll follow my ancient-man-impulse and go see Mr. Vaughn right now. Maybe ask him some more questions."

"Okay."

He watched as Booth headed for the door, flipping his keys in the air and catching them, before he spun around and pointed a finger at Hodgins. "You let Brennan out of your sight and I'll shoot you."

Hodgins nodded. "Okay. I'll, uh... start getting my will together now, just in case."

Booth shot him a look over his shoulder and was gone.

* * *

TBC

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ YES, I know this took F-O-R-E-V-A-H to post, and I apologize. It's a disease, really, that stems from doing a casefile fic. I just always get stuck on them. It never fails. Ask the people that read my Grissom-Catherine stories in the CSI-fandom. I have two casefile fics yet to be finished, one of which (a crossover with The X-Files) has been untouched for over a year. See? Disease. _

And as I am still battling this disease, I ask you all to bear with me. The gentle urging and encouraging words have helped, the** not**-so-gentle urging has **not**; all I can say for certain is that I **will** finish this story. Soon, I'm hoping, but I've learned never to pin down a ballpark time for having a fic finished. Especially since I write for several other fandoms. As of right now, I'm just pleased to have finally finished this chapter.

Hang in there, everyone! And thanks for coming back to read this after so long.


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